A citizen journalist who covered the COVID-19 epidemic in Wuhan was sentenced this Monday (12.28.2020) to four years in prison, while the Chinese government boasts of its successes in the fight against the disease that in a year has been spread all over the planet.
Zhang Zhan “seemed very dejected when the ruling was announced,” one of his lawyers, Ren Quanniu, told AFP, declaring himself “very concerned” about her psychological state.
Foreign journalists and diplomats who traveled to the Shanghai court where the 37-year-old ex-lawyer was tried were unable to enter the courtroom.
Some of his sympathizers were repelled by the security forces during the opening of the process, AFP journalists confirmed. Zhang Zhan could be sentenced to up to five years in prison.
Zhang, a native of Shanghai, traveled to Wuhan in February, at that time prey to the epidemic, and published reports on social networks, mostly about the chaotic situation that hospitals were going through.
According to the official balance, in the metropolis of 11 million inhabitants there were about 4,000 deaths from COVID-19, that is, almost all of the 4,634 deaths recorded throughout China between January and May.
“Provocation of riots”,
China’s initial response to the epidemic has come under fire, as Beijing did not quarantine Wuhan and its region until January 23, despite cases since early December 2019.
At the same time, the doctors who mentioned the appearance of a mysterious virus were questioned by the police, who accused them of “spreading rumors”.
Zhang was arrested in May on charges of “provoking riots,” a terminology often used against opponents of President Xi Jinping’s regime, according to a court note that AFP had access to.
In articles posted online, Zhang denounced the lockdown imposed in Wuhan and referred to a “grave violation of human rights.”
Three other citizen journalists, Chen Qiushi, Fang Bin and Li Zehua, were also arrested after covering these events. The AFP was unable to contact his lawyers.
Wuhan was confined for about 11 weeks after becoming the world’s first focus of the coronavirus. As of mid-May, 50,000 of the 80,000 officially reported cases in China were located in Wuhan. But today life has almost completely returned to normal in the city’s crowded street markets.
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Wuhan, one year after the start of the pandemic
Dancing in the streets
During the lockdown, Wuhan residents were prohibited from even leaving their homes. Now, they can indulge in dancing together in the park. According to data from the Reuters news agency, there have been no cases of local transmission of the virus for several months.
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Wuhan, one year after the start of the pandemic
Coronavirus Ground Zero?
Vegetables and all kinds of meats – even wild animals – used to be sold in this humid market, which closed its doors on January 1, 2020 after a mysterious lung disease was detected whose origin, according to experts, took place in this place . Scientists have not yet been able to determine what the exact role of the market was in the spread of the virus, if any.
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Wuhan, one year after the start of the pandemic
Culinary sector at risk
Before the pandemic, Lai Yun used to buy the products for his Japanese restaurant at the covered market. “He would leave the children at school, have breakfast and go to the market,” says this 38-year-old man. Since the reopening of life, in June, he has to look for the ingredients in different parts of the city, paying up to 5 times more. “Our goal for 2021 is to survive,” he says.
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Wuhan, one year after the start of the pandemic
No more fresh produce
Although the ground floor of the Wuhan Covered Market remains closed, the second level was reopened. There, however, most of the stores sell glasses and other optical products. “Some people have a strange feeling, but the first level is now just an empty building,” says one of the vendors, who prefers not to identify herself.
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Wuhan, one year after the start of the pandemic
Vendors in the streets
Since the market closed, some vendors have started selling fresh meat and other produce on the streets. While they wear masks and gloves, some might say the slightest hygiene standards are not being met. Due to the pandemic, the covered market was harshly criticized for its health problems.
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Wuhan, one year after the start of the pandemic
A clown without a mask
Most of Wuhan’s neighbors continue to wear masks in public, because the coronavirus has not yet been defeated and new cases continue to appear in different parts of China. “A lot of people are starting to accumulate masks, disinfectants and other protective equipment,” reveals to DW Yen, a 29-year-old English teacher. (dz / lgc)
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