Chinese dissident detained in South Korea after daring escape by boat

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SEOUL: A prominent Chinese activist has been taken into South Korean custody after completing a perilous, 30-hour ocean crossing on a small rubber boat to escape state persecution.

Dong Guangping, 68, was intercepted by the South Korean coast guard off the western coast of Taean county following an arduous 300-kilometer journey from China's Shandong province.

The coast guard confirmed Dong was arrested for violating immigration laws after traveling on a 3.3-meter boat. Close associates revealed that Dong was found "almost unconscious" from exhaustion upon entering South Korean waters.

Dong has a decades-long history of targeting by Beijing for his political activism, including public memorials dedicated to the victims of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. He is reportedly hoping to eventually secure safe passage to Canada, where his family currently resides.