Chinese man arrives in Canada after South Korea detains him for dinghy landing and earlier deportations from Thailand and Vietnam

Dong Guangping arrived in Canada on an Air Canada flight to Toronto on Friday after fleeing China last month in a 3.3-meter inflatable boat. The Independent reported that the 68-year-old former police officer reached a western island in South Korea in May, where authorities detained him for allegedly violating immigration law.

At a subsequent court hearing in South Korea, Dong Guangping stated his wish to join his wife and daughters, who had already resettled in Canada, according to South Korean media cited by The Independent.

He completed the roughly 440-mile crossing from Weifang, Shandong, carrying 42 gallons of gasoline along with cooked beef and crackers, though he lost his bearings under cloudy skies. The Independent reported that Dong Guangping had been detained multiple times in China for activism.

Amnesty International documented his three-year imprisonment in 2001 for inciting subversion of state power and an eight-month detention in 2014 for commemorating the Tiananmen Square crackdown.

Earlier escape attempts ended with deportations from Thailand and Vietnam plus an unsuccessful swim toward a Taiwanese island. Chinese-Canadian activist Sheng Xue confirmed the arrival and noted that Dong Guangping ate a bowl of noodles with eggs, tomatoes and shrimp shortly after landing. ” Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada did not immediately comment.