Chinese dissident detained in South Korea after sailing for 30 hours in rubber boat

Chinese dissident Dong Guangping, 68, has been detained in South Korea after nearly 30 hours at sea in a small rubber boat, attempting to flee China. He departed Shandong province on a 3.3-meter craft with a 10-horsepower motor and was spotted 38 nautical miles off the South Korean coast by a fishing boat, which alerted the coast guard. Authorities arrested him on immigration-law violations and began questioning him. Dong, a former police officer, has a long history of protest-related persecution, including Tiananmen-era actions and multiple displacements since 1999, with family refugee status in Canada and previous deportations from Thailand and Vietnam. Rights groups urged Seoul to avoid returning him to China, citing risk of persecution.