CPACA

Introduction -

Toward Freedom: A Personal Odyssey of Dong Guangping

This is a companion volume bringing together two works: the Chinese original, 《十年坚持，自由得逞；十年守护，不离不弃》（Ten Years of Perseverance, Ten Years of Devotion ）and its English adaptation, Toward Freedom – A Personal Odyssey of Dong Guangping.  The volume consists of a reflective essay and two in-depth personal interviews. The two people at the centre of these stories are Mr. Dong Guangping (董广平) and Ms. Sheng Xue (盛雪). The interviews were conducted by Xiao Ran (肖然), a journalist with Vision Times (看中国). The accompanying commentary was written by Jonathan Fon  (冯志强).  The Chinese edition is the original work. The English edition has been adapted by Jonathan Fon from the Chinese original as a work reshaped for an English-speaking audience.

Throughout a decade and so, Dong Guangping pursued one goal: freedom.  He attempted to escape four times.  He was once abducted by Chinese NSB agents back to China from Bangkok, Thailand. Years later, he attempted to swim to Kinmen, Taiwan but was captured by a Chinese fishing boat and failed. Soon after, Dong crossed the border into Vietnam.  He hid himself two years in Hanoi.  He was arrested and deported to China.  Finally, in May this year,  Dong reached the shores of Incheon, Korea.  One month later, he arrived in Toronto, Canada.

Standing alongside Dong's decade-long journey was another extraordinary story—that of Sheng Xue.  Widely recognized in the international human-rights and Chinese democracy movements, Sheng Xue has spent decades advocating for human rights and democracy.  Her involvement in Dong's journey began with a short greeting message: “Sheng Xue, hello.”  Her own words best capture the moral commitment she chose to undertake:  “If he does not give up, I will follow.”  This is only one of many rescue efforts in which Sheng Xue has become involved over the years.

Jonathan Fon was deeply moved not simply with the drama of Dong Guangping's escape, nor even with the extraordinary perseverance of Sheng Xue. Ten years of perseverance.  Ten years of devotion.  It has become so rare in an age of post-modernized civilization.  It deserves to be remembered.  Fon, therefore, persuaded the Canadian Value Watchmen Association to bring these two interviews together in a single volume, in the hope of highlighting a quality of character that seems rare in this postmodern society.  He has also contributed his modest reflection on the meaning of these two extraordinary stories.

Special thanks are due to Xiao Ran, the journalist who conducted these important interviews, and to Vision Times for its generous assistance in making this publication possible.

This volume has been published through the personal financial support of Jonathan Fon.  To make a free publication available to the public through participating community and social organizations.  With the hope that this volume may carry a simple idea from one reader to another:  It is important to stand by the values we believe in while it is equally important to protect and preserve that commitment.

If you would like to share in this effort to make the publication freely available to the public, donations toward its printing and distribution are gratefully welcomed.  Please contact Jonathan Fon at: jonfon1898@gmail.com.

August 8, 2026; Toronto, Ontario