Seoul, South Korea CNN —A jet ski rider detained by South Korea for allegedly entering the country illegally is a prominent Chinese dissident who rode hundreds of miles across the sea to escape from China, activists say. The man, who is in his 30s, was apprehended August 16 near Incheon, on South Korea’s west coast near to the capital Seoul, the Incheon Coast Guard said in a news release Sunday. He is suspected of traveling from China’s eastern Shandong province, which lies about 400 kilometers (250 miles) across the Yellow Sea from Incheon. Upon arrival in South Korea, he got stuck on the muddy shore and had to call an emergency line for help, the release said. Lee Dae-seon, an activist working with Dialogue China and based in South Korea, said Kwon had been sentenced to jail and released in March 2019.

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Persons: Kwon Pyong, Kwon, Xi Jinping, “, ”, Lee Dae, Lee, “ Kwon, ” Lee Organizations: South Korea CNN, South, Incheon Coast Guard, CNN, Iowa State University, House, Freedom, Dialogue Locations: Seoul, South Korea, China, Incheon, South Korea’s, Shandong, United States, Dialogue China