This is a two-part story; please go here for Part 1
In 2016, Dong Luo Bin went to work for a service center under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing. After two years of work, he was sent to the Chinese Consulate in Auckland, New Zealand.
In March 2018, Dong Luo Bin arrived in Auckland. As soon as he arrived at the airport, his passport was confiscated by the consulate staff. Once he arrived at the consulate, his superiors immediately announced their rules to the new arrivals. They were told they were not allowed to go out alone, and at least three people had to go out together so they could supervise each other.
“I always went out with four or five others or even dozens. It was always a group activity with others under supervision. You were also not allowed to contact people from the outside world; there would be serious consequences if you did. A recent example of this happened when one embassy logistician was caught speaking to a local Chinese person from Taiwan. This logistician was immediately repatriated to China,” Dong Luo Bin shared.
In addition to having no personal freedom, he found that he did not even have the privilege of thought when he was inside the consulate.
“Consulate staff work and live within walls, and they cannot read local newspapers or browse overseas websites. Instead, the consulate gave us mobile phone cards, and the Internet was used on Chinese equipment, with a different code for each office. The consulate general also said that all your activities here are transparent. They supervise not only your actions, but also your thoughts. So I think it’s even worse than in China.”
Dong Luo Bin said it looked like he had an excellent job for outsiders, but they were all under a lot of pressure, from logisticians to diplomats. “We didn’t trust each other. It wasn’t just the hard work; it was the oppressive environment that was so painful. You know that when you leave the door, it’s a free world, but you can’t get out. They also reinforce your pain from time to time.”
Many rules were in place at the Chinese consulate
According to Dong, many rules were in place, both spoken and unspoken. For example, they were told not to ask questions they should not ask and not to say things they should not say. “They make all the rules for fear that their people will know the truth of the outside world — and the truth is that people have different ways of living outside of communism, and the values of freedom and humanity are well protected. This is why they try to stop the consulate staff from accessing Western media.”
Dong Luo Bin recalls one time when he was in a car with one of his Chinese superiors, who had his dog with him. He overheard his superiors say: “The Chinese do not live as freely as the dogs in foreign countries.” Hearing these words from his boss’s mouth, Dong Luo Bin was overcome with emotion. Then, he made up his mind — he had to flee!
In a stroke of good fortune, one day, Dong Luobin saw his chance — he rushed out of the Auckland Chinese Consulate without looking back. But unfortunately, after his escape, not only did the Chinese consulate look for him, but his family in China was repeatedly questioned and constantly harassed by all levels of officials, from the police to the top authorities in Beijing.
But Dong Luo Bin knew in his heart that he could never return. When his wife learned of his defection, she did not abandon him and raised their children alone. After several years of hardship, the family was finally reunited.
