The daughter of a missing Chinese human rights defender is pleading with the Vietnamese and Chinese governments to reveal her father's whereabouts and allow him to travel to Canada.
Dong Guangping, an activist who has previously spoken out against China鈥檚 attempts to erase the bloody outcome of the 1989 Tiananmen Square student protest, has 鈥渄isappeared,鈥 according to his daughter.
Dong, a 64-year-old activist, was arrested on Aug. 24 in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi, where he had fled after being released from prison in China.
His daughter, Katherine Dong, is a Toronto university student and became a Canadian citizen this past summer. The 22-year-old student has not heard from her father for more than 80 days and fears he has been handed over to Chinese authorities.
"He didn鈥檛 want me to live in a country without human rights鈥eloves his family and he is a courageous survivor," Katherine said Thursday at a news conference in Ottawa.
"I want to hold on to hope, but I fear the worst."
Katherine Dong listens to a question from a reporter as she takes part in a news conference for the release of her father Dong Guangping, on Parliament Hill, Thursday, November 17, 2022 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
Alongside her at the event were representatives of the Toronto Association for Democracy in China and the Federation for a Democratic China, as well as Alex Neve, former secretary general of Amnesty International Canada.
The association for democracy says Dong Guangping has been granted asylum in Canada, but Ottawa was not able to persuade Vietnamese officials to allow him to leave the country.
Dong had been hiding in Vietnam for 31 months while trying to make it to freedom.
According to Neve, the family has been told that Dong鈥檚 case has been raised by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly in recent international meetings with leaders of Southeast Asia in Cambodia and at the G20 summit in Indonesia.
In a statement to 愛污传媒, Global Affairs Canada says it is 鈥渄eeply worried about Mr. Dong鈥檚 safety and wellbeing and has been raising our concerns at the highest levels. Officials are working to ascertain his whereabouts, including through diplomatic engagement with both Vietnam and China.鈥
The tension between China and Canada played out in front of cameras during an interaction between the Prime Minister and Premier Xi Jinping, when the Chinese leader criticized Trudeau for allegedly 鈥渓eaking鈥 information about their discussions.
Dong's supporters say he was fired from his job as a police officer in China in 1999 because he signed a public letter related to the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests.
He was later imprisoned for three years on charges of "inciting subversion of state power."
鈥淒ong Guangping, like other courageous activists in China, has refused to let themselves be silent around Tiananmen. The Chinese government brutally represses any attempts, including those by relatives of students who were killed to hold ceremonies memorializing their deaths - let alone more forceful campaigns insisting that the truth be told,鈥 said Neve, who is now a senior fellow at the University of Ottawa.
Dong Guangping, an activist who has previously spoken out against China's attempts to erase the bloody outcome of the 1989 Tiananmen Square student protest, has 鈥渄isappeared,鈥 according to his daughter.
Dong fled to Thailand in 2015 with his wife and daughter, who were resettled to Canada as refugees, but he couldn鈥檛 get out. Despite being designated as a refugee by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Thailand sent Dong back to China where he was imprisoned for another three-and-a-half years.
In 2019, Dong tried to escape again by swimming from China鈥檚 east coast to an island under the control of Taiwan.
His daughter, Katherine, says her father swam for 12 hours before 鈥渉e couldn鈥檛 bear it anymore鈥 and was rescued by a Chinese fishing trawler.
In January 2020, the human rights activist fled a third time, and successfully made it across the border to northern Vietnam. Katherine says while hiding in Hanoi, her father was moved from one safe house to another while the Canadian government worked behind the scenes to secure travel documents for him.
The Dong family was initially asked by Global Affairs Canada to stay silent to allow diplomats to negotiate his release. Despite the delicate balancing game, Neve said the family made the decision to speak publicly after it became clear that Canadian officials had not heard anything about Dong for weeks.
鈥淓very hour, every day, and every week that goes past without knowing where he is, without knowing anything about his fate means really the danger he faces will only deepen. Being silent won鈥檛 help,鈥 said Neve.
It鈥檚 unknown how many human rights activists with Canadian ties are imprisoned in China, but Dong鈥檚 detention parallels the case of Uyghur-Canadian Huseyin Celil.
While on an overseas trip visiting his wife鈥檚 family in Uzbekistan in March 2006, China asked the Uzbek government to arrest Celil and extradite him. Celil has been in prison now for more than 16 years.
Fearing a similar fate for her father, Katherine Dong and supporters delivered personal appeal letters Thursday to the Chinese and Vietnamese embassies in Ottawa.
She is asking the two governments to allow Canadian officials to visit her father immediately, and to let him come to Canada without any further delay.
With files from The Canadian Press
While America's southern border remains a hot button issue on the campaign trail, the result of the U.S. election in November could also impact the northern frontier with Canada, which remains the longest undefended border in the world.
It鈥檚 1998. Google was just born, and dial-up was the primary way to connect to the Internet. New sites were being developed daily on any number of topics, from recipes to shopping. David Yanciw, however, was thinking big - big things, that is.
Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard has been found not guilty of sexually assaulting a young woman in northeastern Ontario eight years ago. The former Hedley frontman had pleaded not guilty to sexual assault.
The two people who died in a major fire in Old Montreal on Friday were a mother and her seven-year-old daughter, sources told Noovo Info.
The Ministry of Labour is investigating a workplace incident that claimed the lives of two people in Georgian Bluffs, south of Owen Sound.
Canadians who are eligible for a GST/HST tax credit can expect their final payment of the year on Friday.
New data raises questions about the drinks people consume and the potential risks associated with them, according to researchers at Galway University in Ireland, in partnership with Hamilton鈥檚 McMaster University.
TikToks of customers stuffing their faces with a US$20 endless shrimp. More than 100 restaurant closures and thousands of layoffs. A revolving door of CEOs. Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
New data shows the automated speed enforcement camera on King Edward Avenue, between Bolton Street and St. Patrick Street, issued 6,337 speeding tickets in August, the highest number of tickets issued by Ottawa's 40 photo radar cameras.
Chayton Point loved to dance. Just ask his mom.
As the provincial election campaign reaches the halfway mark, the party leaders made pitches to voters on bread-and-butter issues: housing, child care and jobs.
Vancouver police have deployed extra resources in anticipation of multiple protests planned for Oct. 7.
Two pedestrians have been taken to hospital with unknown injuries after an early-morning collision in Vaughan.
A Toronto city councillor is calling for a public inquiry into the construction of the delayed and over-budget Eglinton Crosstown LRT.
While America's southern border remains a hot button issue on the campaign trail, the result of the U.S. election in November could also impact the northern frontier with Canada, which remains the longest undefended border in the world.
A pedestrian is in critical condition after being struck by a vehicle in southeast Calgary on Friday night.
The loss that extinguished the Calgary Stampeders playoff dreams Friday provided some deja vu for head coach Dave Dickenson.
The Winnipeg Jets prevailed 3-2 over the Calgary Flames in Friday's final dress rehearsal for the NHL regular season for both clubs.
New data shows the automated speed enforcement camera on King Edward Avenue, between Bolton Street and St. Patrick Street, issued 6,337 speeding tickets in August, the highest number of tickets issued by Ottawa's 40 photo radar cameras.
The owner of a Gatineau, Que. caf茅 says it's 'silly' that Quebec's language watchdog is telling the business to write its Instagram posts in French.
Gas prices in Ottawa are set to rise this weekend after a slight uptick overnight.
The two people who died in a major fire in Old Montreal on Friday were a mother and her seven-year-old daughter, sources told Noovo Info.
Montreal police say they are increasing their presence across the city ahead of the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 start of the Israel-Hamas war.
The owner of a Gatineau, Que. caf茅 says it's 'silly' that Quebec's language watchdog is telling the business to write its Instagram posts in French.
Forward Arshdeep Bains hopes his final audition was good enough to earn him a spot in the Vancouver Canucks cast when the curtain opens on the NHL regular season.
A 79-year-old woman is dead after the vehicle she was driving crashed into an east Edmonton building late Friday afternoon.
Detroit Red Wings goaltender Jack Campbell has entered the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program.
A riding in southwest New Brunswick that for decades was a Progressive Conservative stronghold is shaping up to be a bellwether that could offer a window into the future of the Tory party, and maybe of the province.
A teen charged with the murder of another teen on Prince Edward Island last year has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter.
The federal Fisheries Department says it is concerned about a "pattern" of violence and threats toward its enforcement officers after two tense incidents off southwestern Nova Scotia last month.
It鈥檚 1998. Google was just born, and dial-up was the primary way to connect to the Internet. New sites were being developed daily on any number of topics, from recipes to shopping. David Yanciw, however, was thinking big - big things, that is.
Brady Oliveira and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers continue to roll along. Oliveira ran for a season-high 147 yards and a touchdown to power Winnipeg past the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 31-10 on Friday night.
A new report from Doctors Manitoba is calling for major changes to the way sick notes are issued in Manitoba, saying they are a waste of time for doctors and employers.
A Saskatchewan man living in the United States has pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography after he unknowingly provided disturbing videos to an FBI agent he thought was a pedophile.
A group of climate activists is challenging SaskPower's move towards natural gas, arguing it violates their Charter rights.
Regina kids facing mobility issues were gifted toy cars through the Go Baby Go program.
Police have laid charges after a car crashed into the side of a Kitchener home early Friday morning.
The K-W Symphony may have played their last concert but the musicians who made up the ensemble aren鈥檛 ready for their curtain call.
Melissa Duff-Shore, a Cambridge, Ont. woman who killed her daughter in 2020, has been ordered to a forensic hospital in St. Thomas.
The Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation hosted a virtual election forum on education Thursday evening, giving candidates in the provincial election a chance to share their thoughts and answer questions on issues teachers find most important.
A Saskatchewan man living in the United States has pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography after he unknowingly provided disturbing videos to an FBI agent he thought was a pedophile.
Saskatoon police arrested a homeless person at the scene of an encampment underneath the University Bridge on Friday morning.
Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard has been found not guilty of sexually assaulting a young woman in northeastern Ontario eight years ago. The former Hedley frontman had pleaded not guilty to sexual assault.
Two police officers in Greater Sudbury required medical attention for injuries they received arresting a man for the second time in just two days.
Police have arrested a Toronto woman in connection with three recent homicides and investigators say that they believe two of the victims may have been 'randomly targeted.'
As of 3:00 a.m. on Saturday, The West Region OPP Tactics and Rescue Unit (TRU), Emergency Response Team (TEAM) and OPP K9 Unit were operating in the area but have since cleared.
It may be overwhelming to be thinking about 2025, but now鈥檚 the time to register your child for kindergarten if you want to send them off next fall.
According to the CBRE鈥檚 latest commercial vacancy rate report, London saw a vacancy rate of 31.4 per cent, the highest downtown commercial vacancy rate in Canada.
A woman whose son died last month while at a Penetanguishene, Ont. beach with another family member wants to see safety increased at the beach.
The Ministry of Labour is investigating a workplace incident that claimed the lives of two people in Georgian Bluffs, south of Owen Sound.
Provincial police are investigating a collision along Highway 400 in Tay Township Friday afternoon.
According to police, the suspect entered and vandalized the property in the 700 block of Grand Marais Road Easton on September 28.
A motor vehicle collision at Wyandotte Street East and George Avenue has Windsor police on the scene this morning.
The Windsor Spitfires General Manager Bill Bowler announced on Friday that Max Brocklehurst has been reassigned to to the Lasalle Vipers.
We haven't heard the candidates talk much about education during B.C.'s 2024 election campaign, but the teachers' union is trying to put the spotlight on that issue.
The body of a British Columbia mountain climber has been located and recovered after the 39-year-old man was reported missing during a solo climb on Washington state's Mount Baker earlier this week.
Many British Columbians were shaken awake early Friday morning when an earthquake struck in the Strait of Georgia, about 18 kilometres southwest of Tsawwassen.
Three young suspects have been arrested in connection with a swarming attack on a teenager in B.C.'s Okanagan last week 鈥 and authorities have asked the public to stop circulating disturbing videos of the incident.
A father in Kelowna is furious after his 13-year-old daughter was brutally beaten on Gyro Beach. He is calling for criminal charges in the devastating attack, which was caught on video by multiple bystanders.
The officer who shot and killed a forcible confinement suspect in Kamloops two years ago was justified in doing so, according to the Independent Investigations Office of B.C.
A person was airlifted to hospital following a serious crash in Taber, Alta., on Friday morning. Taber RCMP responded to the scene on Highway 864 around 10:30 a.m., for a crash involving an SUV and a semi-truck.
To enhance inclusivity at Lethbridge Polytechnic, the institution has launched a new accessibility micro-credential.
WestJet has changed its operations at the Lethbridge Airport, and it means there's now only a single daily flight from Lethbridge to Calgary, down from three flights a day, as offered previously.
Two teens, ages 14 and 19, have been charged with arson in connection with a July 14 fire in Cat Lake First Nation that destroyed $500,000 in construction materials.
A northeastern Ontario jury has started deliberating in Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard's sexual assault trial, we can now tell you what they weren't allowed to hear.
A suspect who accused Thunder Bay police of being responsible for his throat injury actually hurt himself when he swallowed a large amount of drugs.
He may not have logged the fastest time or even gone the full distance, but residents of a Newfoundland town agree the goat who unexpectedly joined the local weekend half marathon was the event's undisputed champion.
A mother in a community where the cost of living is one of the highest in the country says grocery prices are 'inhumane' and retailers are putting profits ahead of people鈥檚 basic human right to food.
A soccer game in England on Tuesday night drove a spike in online traffic across the Atlantic to a website launched by the Newfoundland and Labrador government.
Chantal Kreviazuk is set to return to Winnipeg to mark a major milestone in her illustrious musical career.
From the beaches of Cannes to the bustling streets of New York City, a new film by a trio of Manitoba directors has toured the international film festival circuit to much pomp and circumstance.
A husband and wife have been on the road trip of a lifetime and have decided to stop in Saskatchewan for the winter.
The grave of a previously unknown Canadian soldier has been identified as a man from Hayfield, Man. who fought in the First World War.
A group of classic car enthusiasts donated hundreds of blankets to nursing homes in Nova Scotia.
Moving into the second week of October, the eastern half of Canada can expect some brisker fall air to break down from the north
What does New Westminster's t蓹m蓹sew虛tx史 Aquatic and Community Centre have in common with a historic 68,000-seat stadium in Beijing, an NFL stadium and the aquatics venue for the Paris Olympics? They've all been named among the world's most beautiful sports venues for 2024.
The last living member of the legendary Vancouver Asahi baseball team, Kaye Kaminishi, died on Saturday, Sept. 28, surrounded by family. He was 102 years old.
New data from Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley shows a surge in supply and drop in demand in the region's historically hot real estate market.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pleaded for peace in the Middle East Saturday, as he decried a civilian death toll he blamed on Hamas, Hezbollah and Israel.
While America's southern border remains a hot button issue on the campaign trail, the result of the U.S. election in November could also impact the northern frontier with Canada, which remains the longest undefended border in the world.
NDP House leader Peter Julian says there's more his party wants to do in Parliament before the next election, but if the current dysfunction continues it will become a factor in how they vote on a confidence measure.
Bruzzese came down with COVID-19 in February 2023, and received her injection at the end of March. 鈥淏eing able to recognize smells is something we take for granted, until you can鈥檛.鈥
New data raises questions about the drinks people consume and the potential risks associated with them, according to researchers at Galway University in Ireland, in partnership with Hamilton鈥檚 McMaster University.
Convenience store firms that operate thousands of outlets across Canada are taking the federal government to court to overturn regulations that restrict the sale of nicotine pouches to pharmacies.
Scientists announced on Thursday a milestone in neurobiological research with the mapping of the entire brain of an adult fruit fly, a feat that may provide insight into brains across the animal kingdom, including people.
For humans, flashing a smile is an easy way to avoid misunderstanding. And, according to a new study, bottlenose dolphins may use a similar tactic while playing with each other.
Alphabet's Google is testing showing check marks next to certain companies on its search results, a company spokesperson said on Friday, in a move aimed at helping users identify verified sources and steer clear of fake websites.
You might be thinking, 'Shut up!' but it鈥檚 officially true: the 'Princess Diaries' franchise is finally growing.
Legendary singer Paul Simon has said he is 'optimistic' about being able to return to performing live after losing most of his hearing in his left ear.
The jury tasked with determining if Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard sexually assaulted a young woman in northeastern Ontario eight years ago began deliberating Friday after nearly two weeks of testimony that saw the singer and his accuser give starkly different accounts of what happened.
TikToks of customers stuffing their faces with a US$20 endless shrimp. More than 100 restaurant closures and thousands of layoffs. A revolving door of CEOs. Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Brazil's Supreme Court said on Friday that lawyers representing social media platform X did not pay pending fines to the right bank, postponing its decision on whether to allow the tech firm to resume services in Brazil.
Convenience store firms that operate thousands of outlets across Canada are taking the federal government to court to overturn regulations that restrict the sale of nicotine pouches to pharmacies.
A five-seat sushi counter located inside another restaurant is the latest Vancouver eatery to receive a Michelin star.
Toilet paper shortages in stores across America are giving folks nightmarish reminders of the pandemic era. But the lack of toilet paper isn鈥檛 a direct result of a major port strike Tuesday. It鈥檚 because of panic buying.
What does New Westminster's t蓹m蓹sew虛tx史 Aquatic and Community Centre have in common with a historic 68,000-seat stadium in Beijing, an NFL stadium and the aquatics venue for the Paris Olympics? They've all been named among the world's most beautiful sports venues for 2024.
The loss that extinguished the Calgary Stampeders playoff dreams Friday provided some deja vu for head coach Dave Dickenson.
According to the Canadian Women & Sport's 2022 Rally Report, 76 per cent of girls who participate in sports believe it helps build confidence and enhances their mental health. While those benefits are important for all children, the organization's CEO says, right now, girls have less access.
Paul Pogba has had his four-year ban for doping reduced to 18 months after appealing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Tesla is recalling more than 27,000 Cybertrucks because the rearview camera image may not activate immediately after shifting into reverse, the fifth recall for the vehicle since it went on sale late last year.
A Pickering, Ont., student going to college to be a mechanic is shocked the engine in his two-year-old car will not be repaired under warranty after the dealership claimed he had been 'over-revving' the engine.
A group of classic car enthusiasts donated hundreds of blankets to nursing homes in Nova Scotia.
The Shopping Trends team is independent of the journalists at 愛污传媒. We may earn a commission when you use our links to shop.聽Read about us.
