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Canadian woman fears father is in Chinese custody for speaking out on human rights

Nov 17, 2022 | 10:19 AM

OTTAWA — The daughter of a missing Chinese human rights defender is appealing to the Vietnamese and Chinese governments to reveal her father’s whereabouts and allow him to travel to Canada.

There has been no word of Dong Guangping’s fate since he was arrested Aug. 24 by Vietnamese police.

His daughter Katherine Dong, who lives in Toronto with her mother, fears he has been handed over to Chinese authorities.

She expressed her concerns at a news conference in Ottawa today alongside representatives of the Toronto Association for Democracy in China and the Federation for a Democratic China.

The association for democracy says Dong Guangping has been accepted for resettlement to Canada as a government-assisted refugee, but Ottawa was not able to persuade Vietnamese officials to allow him to leave Vietnam and travel to Canada. 

The association says Dong had been in hiding in Vietnam for 31 months while trying to make it to freedom.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 17, 2022.

The Canadian Press