It was a clear September afternoon with the Alps clearly visible in the distance when 16-year-old Tang crossed the border from neighboring Slovenia into Italy just over a month ago.
“I’m finally free!” he told himself at the time. “I’m going to Italy to see the sea!”
Tang’s journey to “freedom”— as he described it — had taken him thousands of kilometers, through eight countries, across several time zones, before he finally set foot in Italy.
“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.”
“Then I moved to this city near the border because there aren’t so many people here, and there weren’t any beds in Milan,” said Tang, who asked to be identified only by a nickname for fear of reprisals.
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.
The U.S. government reported a huge increase in the number of Chinese citizens seeking political asylum last year, with more than 37,000 Chinese nationals arrested at its southern land border after grueling treks through the Central American rainforest. The sheer numbers prompted Ecuador to pause its visa waiver program for Chinese passport-holders in June.
‘I wanted to escape’
What prompted Tang to launch himself on a journey halfway round the world at such a young age?
“First of all, I was dissatisfied with my country and lacked any hope there,” Tang said. “Second, it was because of my friend.”
“There were also personal, family reasons,” he said.
Tang once counted himself as a “little pink,” an ardent supporter of the ruling Chinese Communist Party and its official narratives who would go to bat for the government in political discussions on social media.
“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,” Tang told Radio Free Asia. “I gradually came to hate the political system, the party and even my country.”
“So, of course, I wanted to escape.”
Tang was also fleeing an abusive father, so he took tips on “runology” from YouTuber Toronto Square Face.
“He said I’d need about 200,000 yuan (US$28,000) and get to a good standard of English, and I’d be able to go to Canada,” Tang said.
Meanwhile, Tang continued in high school, where teachers were strict to the point of being abusive, saved up slowly, and later joined a user-created online community on the social media site Reddit titled “I Want to Run,” teaching people the best ways to leave China on a budget.
He took days off when he lacked the money to pay for meals in the school canteen, and eventually traveled to the southeastern province of Fujian, where he met up with his travel buddy.
While researching their trip, the pair found that Italy would issue residence permits to minors, which can later be converted to study or work visas.
Begged and borrowed
Eventually Tang begged and borrowed around 10,000 yuan (US$1,400), half of which went for plane tickets. Then the two friends headed for Hong Kong, where they parted company.
Tang flew to Singapore alone, then to Abu Dhabi via Mumbai, and from there to Sarajevo, where he got sick.
“I drank some water at the Mumbai airport and got a fever, so I stayed in bed for a few days in the hotel,” he said. “But I was already pretty happy just checking my phone and playing games, because I knew the Communist Party couldn’t hurt me anymore.”
From there, Tang found his way to a refugee camp in the Bosnian border city of Bihać, where he rested up for three weeks, before making the last leg of the journey to Italy.
He was guided by a fellow Chinese citizen who helped him online with remote tips and encouragement.
“I think it was around Sept. 20,” Tang said. “I don’t remember exactly. I only know that we walked for about four days. There were mountains, but not many, and most of it was wilderness.”
“We slept in the grass in the forest,” he said.
Tang is enjoying his new life already.
“It may be because I just arrived, but I feel that it’s the little things,” he said. “Maybe people here are more polite, or they respect me. They just treat me like a human being.”
“They ask me how I’m doing. One police officer bought me a McDonald’s [meal] with his own money.”
Tang is now all set to remain in Italy, learn all about ancient Rome, and learn Italian, he said.
“The people here make me feel more at home than when I was in China,” Tang said, adding: “I’ve found something better here.”
Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Luisetta Mudie and Roseanne Gerin.