A Chinese dissident, Dong Guangping, has made a daring bid to escape China by spending over 30 hours in a rubber boat to reach South Korea.
Dong, a 68-year-old former police officer, has been detained and jailed in China several times for his activism and past attempts to flee the country.
This is at least his fourth attempt at trying to leave China, with the goal of reuniting with his family in Canada.
Dong was spotted by South Korean fishermen on Monday evening in the waters between China and the Korean Peninsula, and was detained by the South Korean coast guard.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has made it a priority to stabilize relations with Beijing, but Dong's arrival could force his administration to navigate its relationship with China while facing a domestic electorate that opposes accepting asylum seekers.
Dong has been prosecuted by Chinese authorities for his human-rights activism and advocacy of democratic freedoms.
He was jailed from 2001 to 2004 on a charge of "inciting subversion of state power," and was detained again in 2014 after participating in an event honoring the victims of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests.
Dong is being questioned on suspicion of violating South Korea's immigration laws, and would only be allowed to apply for refugee status after criminal penalties have been completed.
