Kwon Pyong
Kwon Pyong | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | 1988 (age 37–38) Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, Jilin, China | ||||||
| Other names |
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| Alma mater | |||||||
| Korean name | |||||||
| Hangul | 권평 | ||||||
| RR | Gwon Pyeong | ||||||
| MR | Kwŏn P'yŏng | ||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 权平 | ||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 權平 | ||||||
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Kwon Pyong (Korean: 권평; born 1988), also known as Quan Ping (Chinese: 权平) or Johnny Kwon, is a Chinese rights activist. He was charged in 2017 with inciting subversion, and served an 18-month prison sentence. In 2023, he fled to South Korea via jet ski, and was detained on immigration charges. He was given a suspended prison sentence, and was deported to the United States in 2024, where he planned to plead asylum.
Background
[edit]Kwon was born in 1988, to an ethnically Korean family in Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, China.[1] He attended Iowa State University in the United States, studying aerospace engineering, and graduated in either 2012[1] or 2014.[2][3] At some point, he also attended the University of Queensland in Australia.[4] During his student years, he maintained a blog and praised the democratic conduct of the 2012 U.S. presidential election. According to his father, he grew critical of China's one-party system during his time abroad.[1]
Kwon returned to China after graduation. He ran an online clothing brand, invested in cryptocurrency,[5] and worked for the family trade business.[3] He travelled in Lebanon and Syria as a photojournalist,[5] and joined the 2014 Occupy Central protests in Hong Kong.[6] He was described as a regular visitor to South Korea.[5]
Arrest and imprisonment in China
[edit]In 2016, Kwon posted a picture of himself outside a government building, wearing a shirt mocking Chinese leader Xi Jinping. The shirt referred to Xi as "Xitler", "Xi Baozi", and "Big Spender".[7] Kwon planned to wear the shirt in public on 1 October, National Day,[7] as a political protest, but was detained by Yanji municipal police[8] before he could do so.[9] Radio Free Asia reported that he was being held incommunicado. Previously, he had suspected that he was being followed.[8]
Kwon was charged with inciting subversion, with 15[10] or more than 70 of his social media posts being identified as subversive.[3][9] It was unclear whether this included the picture of the shirt.[3] Kwon's lawyers reported obstruction from the government leading up to the trial,[11] and were fired by Kwon's parents shortly before it began.[3] They accused the government of pressuring the couple by offering an 18-month prison sentence for Kwon if they were both fired.[3] Kwon was convicted in February 2017[12] and sentenced to 18 months in prison.[13]
The Independent Federation of Chinese Students and Scholars and other activists condemned Kwon's detention.[8]
Flight to South Korea
[edit]Kwon was released in 2018[2][5] or March 2019.[14][15] He reported constant surveillance, which he attributed to his communication with Tiananmen protests organizer Wang Dan.[5] According to an associate, he was placed under an exit ban that prevented him from legally seeking asylum in South Korea.[13] Inspired by The Shawshank Redemption (1994) and a woman who circumnavigated Australia on a jet ski, he decided to flee to South Korea by sea.[5] He obtained a South Korean tourist visa in 2022.[1]
Kwon withdrew the equivalent of US$25,000 in cash in separate installments and purchased a WaveRunner jet ski. He equipped himself with a life jacket, laser pen, and motorcycle helmet, bringing food and five barrels of gasoline in tow.[5] He departed from the Port of Weihai in August 2023,[16] navigating with a compass and smartphone. He fell into the water twice in the course of his journey,[5] and used all but one barrel of gasoline, throwing empty ones into the sea.[16] Intending to arrive at a port of entry in Incheon, Kwon became stranded on a nearby mud flat,[5] and phoned an emergency line for help.[16][17] His trip spanned 14 hours[5][16] and 300 km (186 mi).[1][16] His arrival was the first case of illegal immigration via jet ski ever documented in South Korea.[16]
Arrest and imprisonment in South Korea
[edit]The Incheon Coast Guard rescued Kwon from the mud flat and detained him on immigration charges.[18] According to Kwon, investigators denied him counsel and threatened to torture him. The coast guard issued a statement denying that any human rights violations had occurred. Kwon was ordered to be deported, but his legal case stayed proceedings.[5] He pleaded asylum in South Korea.[19]
Prosecutors requested two and a half years in prison for the immigration violations, to which Kwon pled guilty.[1] He appealed for leniency,[1] arguing that he was a political refugee who intended to arrive legally.[5] In November 2023, the Incheon District Court sentenced him to one year in prison, suspended, with two years of probation.[15] He was also convicted of dumping waste into the sea.[19] As prosecutors appealed the sentence, immigration officials banned Kwon from exiting South Korea. The appellate court rejected the appeal in May 2024, affirming the original sentence.[5] A judge found that he had told the coast guard that he travelled for "adventure", and made no mention of persecution.[17] The exit ban was lifted in June, and he was deported that month to the United States, where he had a visitor visa and planned to plead asylum.[5] He was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.[20]
According to an associate, Kwon was unsafe in South Korea as a target of Operation Fox Hunt, a Chinese operation to forcibly repatriate dissidents.[5]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g Hawkins, Amy (22 November 2023). "Xi critic who fled 300km on jetski to South Korea will die if sent back to China, says father". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 7 March 2026.
- ^ a b Yoon, John (24 August 2023). "Escape China by Jet Ski? A Dissident Is Said to Have Planned It for Years". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 7 March 2026.
- ^ a b c d e f Buckley, Chris (16 February 2017). "He Called China's President 'Xitler' on Twitter. Now He Faces Prison". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 7 March 2026.
- ^ Ng, Yik-tung; Lee, Lai; Mudie, Luisetta (8 December 2016). "Xi Jinping T-Shirt Activist Confirmed Held in Northeast China Detention Center". Radio Free Asia. Retrieved 7 March 2026.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Yoon, John (23 June 2024). "After Escaping China by Sea, a Dissident Faces His Next Act". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 7 March 2026.
- ^ Wu, Yitong; Chingman (23 August 2023). "Riding jet ski, activist jailed over anti-Xi Jinping T-shirt flees to South Korea". Radio Free Asia. Retrieved 7 March 2026.
- ^ a b Lai, Catherine (3 November 2016). "Young Chinese activist missing after sharing plan to wear 'Xitler' t-shirt in public – report". Hong Kong Free Press.
- ^ a b c Ng, Yik-tung; Sing, Man; Guo, Yasa; Mudie, Luisetta (2 November 2016). "China Detains Jilin Activist For Wearing Anti-Xi Jinping T-Shirt". Radio Free Asia. Retrieved 7 March 2026.
- ^ a b Qiao, Long; Ng, Yik-tung; Wong, Lok-to; Mudie, Luisetta (15 February 2017). "Chinese Activist Stands Trial For Subversion Over 'Xitler' T-Shirt". Radio Free Asia. Retrieved 7 March 2026.
- ^ "China's Great Firewall Holds Firm". The Correspondent. 27 March 2017. p. 22.
- ^ Tong, Elson (15 February 2017). "Chinese 'Xitler' activist on trial for subversion as lawyers barred from seeing him". Hong Kong Free Press. Retrieved 7 March 2026.
- ^ Ng, Yik-tung; Sing, Man; Jia, Ao; Mudie, Luisetta (23 January 2020). "China Jails Student For Tweets Sent in US Showing President as Winnie The Pooh". Radio Free Asia. Retrieved 7 March 2026.
- ^ a b Jeong, Andrew; Li, Lyric (23 August 2023). "Man flees China on water scooter, crossing 200 miles of sea to S. Korea". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 7 March 2026.
- ^ Seo, Yoonjung; Yeung, Jessie (23 August 2023). "Suspected Chinese dissident rides jet ski hundreds of miles to South Korea". CNN. Retrieved 7 March 2026.
- ^ a b Young, Jin Yu (23 November 2023). "South Korea Sentences Dissident Who Fled China on a Jet Ski". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 7 March 2026.
- ^ a b c d e f 심, 석용 (26 August 2023). "기름통 5개 싣고 14시간 달렸다…초유의 제트스키 밀입국 전말". The JoongAng (in Korean). Retrieved 7 March 2026.
- ^ a b Jung, Min-ho (31 May 2024). "Conviction upheld for Chinese man who illegally entered Korea by jet ski - The Korea Times". The Korea Times. Retrieved 7 March 2026.
- ^ "Man flees China by riding jet ski hundreds of miles across the sea". NBCNews.com. 24 August 2023. Retrieved 7 March 2026.
- ^ a b Hsu, Stella (23 November 2023). "South Korea Frees Watercraft-Riding Dissident — for Now". Voice of America. Retrieved 7 March 2026.
- ^ 乔, 琴恩; 李, 亚千; 洪, 伟 (27 June 2024). "中国异见人士权平抵美欲申请庇护 现正拘留中". Radio Free Asia (in Chinese (China)). Retrieved 7 March 2026.