A Chinese journalist jailed for four years after documenting the early phases of the COVID-19 outbreak from the pandemic’s epicenter was sentenced on Friday to four more years in prison, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said on Saturday.
Zhang Zhan (張展), 42, was sentenced on a charge of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” in China, the same charge that led to her December 2020 imprisonment after she posted first-hand accounts from the central city of Wuhan on the early spread of COVID-19, RSF said.
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs could not be immediately reached yesterday for comment.
Photo: Melanie Wang via AP
“She should be celebrated globally as an ‘information hero,’ not trapped in brutal prison conditions,” RSF Asia-Pacific Bureau advocacy manager Aleksandra Bielakowska said in a statement. “Her ordeal and persecution must end. It is more urgent than ever for the international diplomatic community to pressure Beijing for her immediate release.”
Zhang was initially arrested after months of posting accounts, including videos, from crowded hospitals and empty streets that painted a more dire early picture of the disease than the official narrative. Her lawyer at the time, Ren Quanniu (任全牛), said Zhang believed she was “being persecuted for exercising her freedom of speech.”
She went on hunger strike the month after that arrest, according to court documents seen by Reuters, prompting police to strap her hands and force-feed her with a tube, her lawyers said at the time.
Zhang was released in May last year and detained again three months later, eventually being formally arrested and placed in Shanghai’s Pudong Detention Center, RSF said.
Friday’s sentencing followed Zhang’s reporting on China’s human rights abuses, RSF said.
Ren posted on X that the new charges were based on Zhang’s comment on overseas Web, sites and she should not be deemed guilty.
China’s authorities have never publicly specified what activities Zhang was charged for.
FRUSTRATIONS: One in seven youths in China and Indonesia are unemployed, and many in the region are stuck in low-productivity jobs, the World Bank said Young people across Asia are struggling to find good jobs, with many stuck in low-productivity work that the World Bank said could strain social stability as frustrations fuel a global wave of youth-led protests. The bank highlighted a persistent gap between younger and more experienced workers across several Asian economies in a regional economic update released yesterday, noting that one in seven young people in China and Indonesia are unemployed. The share of people now vulnerable to falling into poverty is now larger than the middle class in most countries, it said. “The employment rate is generally high, but the young struggle to
ENERGY SHIFT: A report by Ember suggests it is possible for the world to wean off polluting sources of power, such as coal and gas, even as demand for electricity surges Worldwide solar and wind power generation has outpaced electricity demand this year, and for the first time on record, renewable energies combined generated more power than coal, a new analysis said. Global solar generation grew by a record 31 percent in the first half of the year, while wind generation grew 7.7 percent, according to the report by the energy think tank Ember, which was released after midnight yesterday. Solar and wind generation combined grew by more than 400 terawatt hours, which was more than the increase in overall global demand during the same period, it said. The findings suggest it is
IN THE AIR: With no compromise on the budget in sight, more air traffic controllers are calling in sick, which has led to an estimated 13,000 flight delays, the FAA said Concerns over flight delays and missed paychecks due to the US government shutdown escalated on Wednesday, as senators rejected yet another bid to end the standoff. Democrats voted for a sixth time to block a Republican stopgap funding measure to reopen government departments, keeping much of the federal workforce home or working without pay. With the shutdown in its eighth day, lines at airports were expected to grow amid increased absenteeism among security and safety staff at some of the country’s busiest hubs. Air traffic controllers — seen as “essential” public servants — are kept at work during government shutdowns, but higher numbers
Elvis Nghobo tried to get into four different professional schools in Cameroon, but could not make it. Frustrated, the 34-year-old turned to selling food at a market in Yaounde, the country’s seat of power. Nghobo blames his woes on what he calls a corrupt education system that favors children of the elite. As the central African country prepares for Sunday’s presidential election, he said he would not be heading out to vote. He called the results a foregone conclusion for 92-year-old Paul Biya, the world’s oldest president, who has ruled for Nghobo’s entire life. “He is already too old to govern, and it’s boring
RSS