South Korea detains dissident who fled China in rubber boat

Dong had previously discussed his escape plan with Sheng Xue, she said, but she had told him it would be too dangerous."He ended up really doing it... Dong Guangping is too tenacious, too brave," she said, adding that he had planned his escape with "meticulous checks and preparation".China" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="135145" data-entity-type="organization">Human Rights in China (HRIC), an NGO based in New York, has urged Seoul to "uphold humanitarian principles and international human rights obligations" by not handing Dong over to China, where he "faces a grave risk of persecution and torture".It also called on Korean authorities to allow Dong to seek political asylum, or help facilitate his safe passage to Canada where his family members live."That a man nearing seventy years old was driven to cross open seas in a small inflatable boat is itself a devastating indictment of China's human rights situation," HRIC said.Multiple escapesIn 1999, Dong was fired from the police force after he signed a petition to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the brutal Tiananmen crackdown on pro-democracy protesters.Then in 2001, he was imprisoned for three years for "inciting subversion of state power". He was jailed again in 2014 for participating in another Tiananmen commemoration event, according to Amnesty International.