When Dong was in China, he had long wanted to leave due to his Roman Catholic faith being suppressed under the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). After being assigned to the Chinese consulate in New Zealand, the oppressive environment he experienced there, only strengthened his will to escape.
Dong said consulate staff members do not receive their paychecks while stationed overseas. Instead, they get a generous lump-sum payment upon their return to China so to guarantee the return of everyone working on diplomatic missions.
“This was an important reason why most people would not [try to] escape,” he said.
Dong said Chinese consulate employees do not need to pay for meals, accommodation, transportation, etc., so there were not many opportunities to use money.
“If you need to buy anything for yourself, you can have some cash advance from the consulate, but you can only take out up to US$600 at a time. So if a staff member escapes, he or she will have a very hard time surviving on such limited cash.”
Dong, at that time, believed that a lack of official identification would be his main problem if he chose to defect with his passport being confiscated by the consulate right after he arrived in New Zealand. This is done to further deter consulate staff from escaping.
He said that all communication devices, such as cell phone SIM cards and internet devices, were provided by the consulate so staff’s every move could be monitored. Moreover, no one was allowed to leave the consulate alone.
“You know very well that outside of the gates is the free world, but you just cannot get out,” he said.
But for the then 34-year-old, the biggest challenge in any escape attempt was his own determination after years of CCP brainwashing and psychological intimidation filled him with dread and doubt.
He also feared if an escape attempt from the consulate failed, his life would be in danger.
Internet Freedom
Dong bought a local cellphone SIM card through an undisclosed contact, and it opened him to information from the free world.“I used data on this SIM card to read news and browse the internet instead of using the wifi arranged by them [the consulate],” he said.
“I came across Voice of America, Voice of Asia, Deutsche Welle, The Epoch Times, BBC, Vatican Chinese Radio, etc. I realized there were so many voices in this world standing up for religious liberty and freedom of expression. This was very encouraging for me after coming to New Zealand.”
The staff dormitories at the consulate were chain locked from the outside. However, Dong noticed that a side entrance offered him a way out. He was able to reach out through a gap in the entrance to unlock the chain if he pushed hard enough. He also learned through his work as support staff that the CCTV monitoring system at one of the new dormitory properties had not yet been made operational.
By taking advantage of such “loopholes,” Dong was able to sneak out of the consulate to visit a Catholic church near the consulate. He recalled that the priest at the church was Indian and only spoke English, so they had to communicate through Google translate.
Opportunity to Escape
Dong’s secret church visits carried on until Sunday, May 6, 2018, when he went to Mass during the day. He returned to the consulate and saw seven missed calls on his muted cellphone from his direct supervisor at the consulate. The supervisor found out that Dong had left the facility unauthorized but had no idea where he had gone.The next morning, several newly arrived consulate staff, including Dong, were supposed to replace their Chinese driver’s licenses with local driver’s licenses, and their passports were temporarily returned to them. This was when Dong saw an opportunity, as he believed that he needed some official identification if he was to escape successfully.
At the same time, Dong was issued a “disciplinary notice” and was scolded by his superior. Unexpectedly, his superior had to leave urgently to meet some diplomatic visitors. Dong suddenly realized that there was no one stopping him from walking out of the consulate with his documents.
It was just past noontime, and Dong went back to his dorm, where he quickly packed some clothes and personal items into his bag. As he was about to leave, he could not help but hesitate until he heard a voice saying, “go quickly.” He saw no one around him in the building and instantly felt that it was the voice of God that told him to grasp the opportunity.
When Dong left his dormitory room, he deliberately placed a pair of shoes outside the door so his colleagues would believe that he might still be inside.
Saved by Faith
Dong went straight to the church but could not find his priest. It was a terrible blow for him, something he never expected.Dong knew there was no way back and feared that he would have nowhere to go. Out of desperation, he sought help from a female schoolteacher who was teaching a group of children at the Catholic school next door to the church. However, it was difficult for him to communicate as he did not speak English.
Little did Dong know at the time that the teacher called the police since she had no idea what he wanted. When the local police showed up, Dong was extremely nervous, given his memories from China about the police cracking down on underground Catholics. He feared that the police might just return him to the consulate. The officers signaled for him to remain seated and looked serious when they spoke to the schoolteacher.
Dong suddenly remembered the crucifix he wore around his neck and immediately took it out to show them. The school staff seemed to immediately understand him and spoke to the police, and the police’s attitude also changed and became friendly to him.
Dong admitted to the police, “I escaped from the Chinese consulate, and if you send me back there, I'll be dead for sure. Wherever you take me, just don’t send me back.”
The police told him: “Be rest assured. We are here to protect you.” (Not the original words because Dong relied on a translation tool.)
Dong was brought to the police station in Auckland, where he was told that he will be safe.
He got in touch with a Chinese-Australian pro-democracy activist he had contacted on the internet but never met in person. The activist contacted Chinese dissidents in New Zealand to help Dong and to pick him up from the police station.
Later in the day, through the aid of a chain of people willing to help, a meeting was arranged with a lawyer who helped Dong file his claim for asylum.
Aftermath
Six months after his escape, Dong was granted political asylum in New Zealand, making him the first diplomatic defector in the country since the Cold War.When he escaped, he had only the $600 cash advance from the consulate, but in time, he managed to survive by working part-time, and he was settled in New Zealand.
Dong’s family in China was repeatedly harassed and intimidated by the CCP. When his wife learned of his escape, she raised their children on her own for four years but never gave up hope and faith in their marriage. They were finally able to join Dong in New Zealand in February 2023.
Dong later learned from his former colleagues at the consulate that the shoes he had placed outside the door of his dormitory had bought him 24 hours of time. One colleague told him that everyone thought he was sulking in his room after being disciplined by their superiors. It wasn’t until the next day that they realized that he was gone.
They also told him that after the Chinese consulate found out about his escape, the staff dormitories were essentially on lockdown for a whole month, and no one was allowed in or out except the chef. Their superiors took a long time trying to figure out whether Dong’s escape was planned or was an impromptu decision after being upset with the disciplinary action.
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