Dissident detained in South Korea after fleeing China in a rubber boat

Dong Guangping tried to escape China many times after being put in jail for his activism.

Published 27 May 2026 105 words
WORLD A1
Dissident detained in South Korea after fleeing China in a rubber boat

A man from China has arrived in South Korea. He came by boat.

The man, Dong Guangping, is 68 years old. South Korea’s coastguard found him on Monday. He was on a small boat with a motor. It took him more than 30 hours to get to South Korea from China.

Dong Guangping wants to leave China because he is an activist. He has tried to escape before. He tried to go to Thailand and Taiwan, but he was sent back to China. In China, he was sent to jail for more than three years.

Now he is in South Korea. The police are asking him questions. He hopes to go to Canada, where his family lives.

Vocabulary

dissident — Someone who disagrees with their country's government.
activist — A person who tries to make changes in society, for example, by protesting.
coastguard — The part of a country's military that protects the coast.
detained — Kept someone in a place, like a police station.
resettle — To move to a new place to live.

Discussion Questions

  1. Where did Dong Guangping arrive after trying to escape China?
  2. Why did Dong Guangping try to escape from China?
  3. What is Dong Guangping's plan for the future?

Based on an article from The Guardian.

Read the original article