Chinese man with prior prison record arrives in Toronto after South Korean detention for immigration violation

Dong Guangping arrived in Toronto on an Air Canada flight Friday, completing his journey to join his wife and daughters who had already resettled in Canada. South Korean authorities detained him in May aboard a 10.8-foot inflatable boat off a western island and held him for allegedly violating immigration law. The detention marked his fourth known attempt to leave China.

Dong Guangping, a former police officer, served three years in prison starting in 2001 for inciting subversion of state power. He also spent more than eight months in detention after a 2014 arrest tied to a Tiananmen Square memorial, according to Amnesty International records.

Earlier efforts included escapes to Thailand and Vietnam that ended in deportation back to China, as well as an unsuccessful attempt to swim to a Taiwanese island.

At a South Korean court hearing after his May arrest, he stated he hoped to reach Canada to join his family. Sheng Xue, who has worked more than 10 years to help him leave China, posted on X on Saturday that he had landed. She stated that he ate a bowl of noodles with eggs, tomatoes and shrimp after arrival and that he had never complained during more than ten escape attempts over a decade.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has not commented on his arrival.