《走线》歪脑首部纪录片长片

This program contains graphic language and imagery may not be suitable for all audiences. Viewer discretion is advised.

[man 1] After leaving China and traveling all over,

I found I wasn’t as stressed.

I had never cast a vote in all my life.

This time I voted with my feet.

[reporter 1] In the surge of migrants illegally crossing the Mexico-US border,

there’s now a growing number of Chinese nationals.

[reporter 2] Border patrol agents arrested more than 24,000 Chinese people

for crossing the US Southern border illegally over the past year through September.

[reporter 3] Since October of last year (2022),

the number of illegal immigrants from China,

now called "line walkers" by netizens,

has increased by 15 times compared with the same period last year,

reaching a historical peak.

[reporter 4] Why are Chinese people continuing to “flee” to the United States,

in spite of all the dangers and difficulties?

[man 2] Why did I wake up?

I feel like waking up was an agonizing process.

The Chinese people want human rights!

The Chinese people want human rights!

[man 3]I'm already at the bottom of society, what do I fear?

[man 4] In China, gays and lesbians cannot get married or have children.

When we grow old, we will be left all alone.

I’m afraid of being arrested when I talk,

when I do anything.

Democracy! Rule of law!

Freedom of speech!

We must persist in the Zero-Covid Policy without wavering.

[Xi] Launch a people's war, a total war,

-[Xi] against the epidemic. -[Crowd] Lift the lockdown!

[man 5] The zero-COVID policy created Chinese refugees.

I just want my children

to live differently.

We want freedom!

We want freedom!

After enduring China’s Covid-19 restrictions, many fled the country, taking perilous journeys through South and Central America to reach the United States. This route is referred to by Chinese internet users as “zouxian”, or “walk the line”.

[Airport train announcing stops]

At the end of 2022,

I first reported on Chinese citizens

"walking the line" in Colombia.

Initially, I was going to interview

Latin Americans who crossed the Darién Gap,

but unexpectedly I saw dozens of Chinese faces

like mine at the port.

In March 2023,

I decided to follow in their footsteps.

I flew from my homeland, Taiwan,

to Istanbul, Turkey.

Most Chinese who plan to walk the line

will fly here from various ports in China,

and then fly from Istanbul to Ecuador.

Ecuador is one of the few Latin American countries

that Chinese passport holders can enter without a visa.

As soon as I arrived at the boarding gate for my flight to Ecuador,

I saw about thirty Chinese,

including at least two families.

Are they all planning to go to the United States?

I need to fight for my own future.

The US is also divided into classes, right?

You start in the lowest class, no way around it.

To get to the elite class, you must fight for it with all you have.

So, when I get there, I’ll have to struggle all over again,

just like when I first graduated.

Of course, for me,

I am already in my thirties,

and starting over

was not an easy decision.

[Alicia] For these migrants,

leaving China is a challenge.

They are terrified of being interrogated by Chinese customs

or even prevented from leaving.

First they would buy round-trip tickets

from China to Istanbul,

book hotels and travel itineraries in Turkey.

Once out of China,

they cancel their reservations

and buy a ticket to Quito, the capital of Ecuador.

China is also divided into big cities and small cities,

sensitive areas and not so sensitive areas.

If you're from a sensitive area, going to some sensitive places,

Turkey is also a sensitive place now,

if they fly there from China,

they are likely to get stopped.

I can't go into detail now,

because there are many fellow Chinese here.

[Alicia] After arriving in Ecuador,

migrants have to cross seven countries

and travel 3,500 kilometers north

before reaching the United States.

[Flight attendant announcing flight arrival]

[Alicia] After 14 hours,

we completed the long international flight.

In the terminal,

we saw an old man in a neat suit

and a young couple dressed in vacation attire.

I found out that the reason why they dressed up like this

was because they were afraid that Ecuadorian customs would suspect them

of being "fake tourists” there to walk the line,

and they would be deported back to Turkey.

[Mr. Li] I took a walk today

Quito is quite mountainous.

[Alicia] You had some altitude sickness?

Yeah, altitude sickness.

I just had a headache,

and it felt like my brain was waterlogged,

like it was all clogged up.

[Alicia] Walking into the colorful bungalow community in central Quito,

there is a hostel hidden in an alley.

The hostel owner, also from China,

provides travelers with a place to stay.

Twenty-five dollars a night, including meals.

The hostel also sells rainforest equipment,

Chinese cigarettes, and instant noodles.

In busy periods,

it can host more than 30 people a night.

Most travelers will team up here

and continue heading north together.

Why should I team up with other migrants

and share my personal business

and share my personal business？

I’m not seeking anything from them,

I just hope they don’t bother me.

These photos were taken some years ago.

I’ve worked in hospitality for a few years.

[Alicia] Mr. Li once worked as a hotel manager in Guangzhou.

Before setting off,

he spent half a year researching travel strategies on social media.

I saw these short videos

about walking the line on Douyin

in September last year.

An opportunity to go to America.

Yes. So I started planning at that time.

If you decide to walk the line,

how much money do you need?

[Douyin] You can hide $500 in one shoe,

$1,000 in a pair.

Hold on to the rope!

To be honest, I was still very reluctant

until the very moment I left.

The social environments are intolerable

for any reasonable person.

Unless I had family and loves ones

keeping me in China,

I’d find a way to immigrate.

Even if I did,

I’d figure out how to take them with me.

[Woman singing in Spanish]

[Alicia] In Quito Old Town,

I met a family of four preparing

to go to the Darién Gap.

The father was worried

about the safety of his family in China

and chose not to show his face .

He even worried that the Chinese government

could identify him from the way he walks.

Three years of Zero-Covid Policy.

Many things were completely exposed.

You lie...

No matter how good at lying you are,

do you really think we are that gullible?

[Alicia] His nine-year-old daughter was drinking a milkshake aside.

and he teared up as he talked.

He used a VPN to bypass the Great Firewall see the world without censorship.

He owned a bookstore

and was interrogated by the National Security police.

They warned us not to sell certain books.

They threatened my children’s future

if I did it again.

How did you financially prepare for this?

We had to sell our house and car.

But we also knew that by selling at that time,

we had to sell low.

It barely covered the travel expenses.

[Alicia] The migrants then took long-distance buses

to a small town in Colombia near

the border with Panama,

across the sea from the Darién Gap,

Necoclí.

Mr. Li had been so full of confidence,

but texted me in the evening,

hoping that we would pick him up at the station in Necoclí.

The message ended with two "scared" emojis.

[Mr. Li] These four days

have felt like traveling halfway across China.

Sleeping on the coach at night.

It's so hard.

[Alicia] The once quiet and peaceful town

with a population of only 20,000

has become noisy and crowded due to the influx

of tens of thousands of migrants.

Merchants and shops no longer target tourists

but instead are engaged in the immigration business.

Prices are steadily rising,

with migrants sleeping in tents on the beach.

But migrants from China

usually have enough money to stay in hotels.

[Ferry announcement]

As long as the wind and waves

are calm enough for travel,

hundreds of migrants will gather at the port before 8 a.m.,