'Chinese activist Kwon Pyong' fled to South Korea on jet ski

Source: BBC

'Chinese activist Kwon Pyong' fled to South Korea on jet ski

22 August 2023

By Celia Hatton & Harrison Jones
BBC News

A man believed to be a Chinese rights activist has been arrested in South Korea after an apparent attempt to flee there on a jet ski.

The country's coast guard said the man had travelled about 300km (186 miles) across the Yellow Sea using binoculars and a compass, but then got stuck.

Local reports named him as Kwon Pyong, a critic of President Xi Jinping, but his identity has not been verified.

The Chinese embassy in Seoul declined to comment.

In recent years, Beijing has increased its use of exit bans at airports and other legal border crossings in order to block activists from leaving Chinese territory.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-66585657


The man believed to be Kwon Pyong is said to have got into trouble on his jet ski as he neared the city of Incheon (South Korea Coast Guard/AFP)