Kwon Pyong

In this Korean name, the family name is Kwon.

Kwon Pyong
Born1988 (age 37–38)
Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, Jilin, China
Other names
  • Quan Ping
  • Johnny Kwon
Alma mater
Korean name
Hangul
권평
RRGwon Pyeong
MRKwŏn P'yŏng
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese权平
Traditional Chinese權平
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinQuán Píng

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

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

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 October 1, 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

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 gas 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 gas, 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

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

  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ "China's Great Firewall Holds Firm". The Correspondent. 27 March 2017. p. 22.
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ 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.
  14. ^ Seo, Yoonjung; Yeung, Jessie (23 August 2023). "Suspected Chinese dissident rides jet ski hundreds of miles to South Korea". CNN. Retrieved 7 March 2026.
  15. ^ 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.
  16. ^ 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.
  17. ^ 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.
  18. ^ "Man flees China by riding jet ski hundreds of miles across the sea". NBC News. 24 August 2023. Retrieved 7 March 2026.
  19. ^ a b Hsu, Stella (23 November 2023). "South Korea Frees Watercraft-Riding Dissident — for Now". Voice of America. Retrieved 7 March 2026.
  20. ^ 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". 普通话主页 (in Chinese (China)). Retrieved 7 March 2026.
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