Chinese man seeking ‘freedom and equality’ says he travelled to Taiwan in dinghy

A Chinese man seeking “freedom and equality” has said he travelled undetected to Taiwan in a dinghy through the heavily patrolled Taiwanstrait, according to authorities. Taichung Port police officers detained the man, surnamed Zhou, after they received reports of a man behaving suspiciously near the docks. A police spokesperson said Zhou told officers he had travelled from Quanzhou in Fujian province, in a 2.6m long rubber dinghy he’d bought online, powered by an outboard motor.

The 180km journey took about 10 hours, they said, through the highly militarised Taiwan Strait, which is patrolled by both Taiwanese and Chinese authorities.In a video of the arrest posted online, police officers can be heard asking Zhou “did you come over for freedom?” Zhou replies: “Yes, I came by boat”.

“Taiwan has more freedom and equality,” he said.

Asked if life is bad in China, Zhou said he believed life in China “is all kinds of bad”. Zhou told officers he had not committed any crime in China.

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