Zhang Zhan (42), a citizen journalist who alerted the world to the devastation in Wuhan, China, in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, was sentenced to another four years in prison three months after being released. Considering that Zhang served four years after the first imprisonment in 2020, the total time behind bars comes to eight years. The international community is raising the level of criticism toward the Chinese authorities for suppressing an "information hero."
According to foreign media, including the Taipei Times and Deutsche Welle, on the 21st (local time), the Shanghai Pudong New Area People's Court on the 19th sentenced Zhang to four years in prison on the charge of "picking quarrels and provoking trouble (寻衅滋事)." The charge is a count the Chinese authorities habitually use to suppress dissidents or critical voices. Because it is vague and sweeping, it is called an "all-purpose shackle."
A former lawyer, Zhang in early 2020 filmed the reality of the locked-down city in Wuhan, where COVID-19 first spread, including hospital corridors packed with patients and empty streets, and posted the videos on overseas social media platforms such as X (formerly Twitter) and YouTube. In the videos, Zhang said, "Everything is covered up, and I have nothing to say except that the city is paralyzed," and criticized the Chinese government's response, saying, "They imprison us and restrict freedom under the pretext of epidemic prevention."
Zhang was arrested in May 2020 and in December of the same year was sentenced to four years in prison on the charge of picking quarrels and provoking trouble. While serving time at Shanghai Women's Prison, Zhang staged multiple hunger strikes in protest of what was called an unjust verdict. During this process, Zhang's weight reportedly dropped from 75 kilograms to 41 kilograms, and Zhang suffered serious health problems.
Zhang was released last May after serving the full four-year term. However, three months later Zhang was again taken into custody by public security while supporting human rights activist Zhang Pancheng (张盼成), who was arrested in August of the same year for activities on behalf of wrongfully dismissed workers. Media reported that since then, China's public security authorities have held Zhang in detention for more than a year and conducted a nonpublic investigation.
According to an indictment made public online, Chinese prosecutors said Zhang massively disseminated false information on overseas social media that seriously damaged China's national image and disrupted social order. Zhang's defense declined to comment. The court also did not release documents related to the trial.
The trial on the 19th also proceeded under strict control. According to DW, seven U.S. and European diplomats tried to attend the hearing that day but were refused entry for incomplete paperwork.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) issued a statement the same day saying, "Zhang Zhan should be recognized worldwide as an 'information hero,' not locked in a brutal prison," and added, "Zhang's ordeal and persecution must end. The international diplomatic community must press the Chinese government with more urgency than ever for Zhang's immediate release." Zhang was selected as a recipient of the RSF Press Freedom Prize in 2021.