A Chinese dissident has been convicted of illegal entry by a South Korean court on Thursday but given a suspended jail sentence. He made a daring escape from China on a jet ski in August due to Beijing's surveillance of his activities and anticipation of further political persecution.
The Chinese citizen was the activist Kwon Pyong, who had been in prison for mocking head of state Xi Jinping. The man had started the crossing from the eastern Chinese province of Shandong equipped only with a life jacket, helmet, compass and binoculars. In order to have enough fuel with him, he carried five barrels filled with gasoline in tow. Near the South Korean city of Incheon, he got stuck in the Wadden Sea and called for help. There are no indications that he is a spy.
A jet ski rider detained by South Korea for allegedly entering the country illegally is a prominent Chinese dissident who rode hundreds of miles across the sea to escape from China, activists say.