Four Years Jailed for Chinese Citizen Journalist

February's SARs-CoV-2 coverage in Wuhan by hunger-striking Shanghai resident Zhang Zhan is now sentenced for criticizing China's initial management.

By TREY KODMAN

On Monday, December 28th, a Chinese court sentenced four years of incarceration to the 37-year-old live-streamer Zhang Zhan for "picking quarrels and provoking trouble" during the early governmental downplaying the novel coronavirus in Wuhan. In a worrisome condition currently, her attorneys shared with the media at the Shanghai courthouse she will most likely continue this hunger strike.

Her story doesn't stand alone in China as several other citizen-journalists are also in trouble with authorities for their actions involving the outbreak of the CoVID-19. Some of these whistleblowers have gone completely missing to their families and colleagues. Others have left China and gone into hiding.

One of the earliest stories of a medical worker attempting to alert the virology community was Li Wenliang, only to become silenced by local authorities from intercepted messages used as evidence accused of peddling rumors. He later died of the virus he was trying to advance the initial knowledge of to the rest of the world.

With discredited Chinese doctors and journalists in the wind with Chinese military intelligence on their heels, there are still more hearings to come against those caught and locked up with similar charges as Zhang.