This September, 16-year-old Tang, having fled China, finally reached Italy. His thought was “I’m finally free” (“How a Chinese high-school student left home for a new life in Italy,” Radio Free Asia, October 26, 2024).
It had been a long journey.
“I went from mainland China to Hong Kong, from Hong Kong to Malaysia, from Malaysia to Singapore, from Singapore to Mumbai, from Mumbai to Abu Dhabi, from Abu Dhabi to Sarajevo; from Sarajevo to Bihać, the border city of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” he told RFA Mandarin’s Newcomers podcast. “From there, I sneaked across the border into Croatia, then to Slovenia, to Milan.”…
Tang is just one among hundreds of thousands of Chinese nationals to join the mass exodus from their country, a phenomenon known in China as the “run” movement that took off during the grueling lockdowns, mass incarceration in quarantine camps and compulsory testing under Xi Jinping’s zero-COVID policy. The government abruptly ended the policy following nationwide protests known as the “white paper” movement in 2022.
Many migrants travel first to territories that have visa waiver programs for Chinese passport-holders, before joining people-smuggling operations to get them further towards their ultimate goal, often political asylum in the United States.
Tang gives a few different reasons for his determination to get out of China, including an abusive father. But the most important was that he had become “dissatisfied with my country and lacked any hope there.”
Once a “little pink”—an ardent online supporter of the Chinese Communist Party—his faith in the Party and its doctrines eventually crumbled.
“So much was going on in 2022, what with the pandemic lockdowns, the Urumqi fire and the white paper revolution, and I began to change. I gradually came to hate the political system, the party and even my country. So, of course, I wanted to escape.”
Tang saved his money. A Reddit discussion group offered tips on how to escape China on a budget. Researching possible destinations, he settled on Italy because its government would issue resident permits to minors. He borrowed money. He and a friend went as far as Hong Kong together, but Tang went on to Malaysia and Singapore by himself. Then to Mumbai, Abu Dhabi, Bosnia, Croatia, Slovenia, and finally Milan, Italy.
Already pretty happy
“I drank some water at the Mumbai airport and got a fever, so I stayed in bed for a few days in the hotel. But I was already pretty happy just checking my phone and playing games, because I knew the Communist Party couldn’t hurt me anymore.”
The people in Italy are friendly, he tells RFA. “They ask me how I’m doing. One police officer bought me a McDonald’s [meal] with his own money.”
Also see:
BBC: “China Xinjiang: Urumqi rocked by Covid lockdown protests after deadly fire”
The New York Times: “Memes, Puns and Blank Sheets of Paper: China’s Creative Acts of Protest”
