{"id":976069,"date":"2021-11-06T10:13:51","date_gmt":"2021-11-06T14:13:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=976069"},"modified":"2021-11-06T10:13:53","modified_gmt":"2021-11-06T14:13:53","slug":"chinese-journalist-jailed-for-wuhan-reporting-close-to-death-from-hunger-strike","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/chinese-journalist-jailed-for-wuhan-reporting-close-to-death-from-hunger-strike\/","title":{"rendered":"Chinese Journalist Jailed for Wuhan Reporting \u2018Close to Death\u2019 from Hunger Strike"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fchinese-journalist-jailed-for-wuhan-reporting-close-to-death-from-hunger-strike%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=976069&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p class=\"subheading\"><span>The family of Chinese citizen journalist Zhang Zhan, detained since May 2020 for her reporting from the epicenter of the global coronavirus pandemic in Wuhan, is warning that she is severely underweight from a hunger strike and \u201cmay not survive the coming cold winter.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Zhang, a 38-year-old former lawyer, is one of several citizen journalists arrested by the brutal Chinese government or simply made to \u201cdisappear\u201d because they reported on conditions in the city of Wuhan.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"gmxrevmore\" class=\"H\"><\/figure>\n<p><span>Zhang <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wionews.com\/world\/zhang-zhan-who-exposed-chinas-mishandling-of-covid-is-close-to-death-in-jail-family-426911\"><span>used<\/span><\/a><span> her mobile phone to show the world the truth of coronavirus patients stacked up in overflowing Wuhan hospitals in February 2020, a time when the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) insisted the outbreak was small and fully under control.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Zhang reported on the harassment of journalists and the families of coronavirus patients who dared to speak out. She was herself intimidated and physically abused by security forces for making her forbidden recordings.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThe government\u2019s way of managing this city has just been intimidation and threats. This is truly the tragedy of this country,\u201d she said in her last video report.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<div id=\"attachment_17294762\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" readability=\"35\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/china-medical-staff-surround-newborn-baby-march-2020-getty.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-17294762\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/china-medical-staff-surround-newborn-baby-march-2020-getty.jpg\" alt=\"This photo taken on March 7, 2020 shows a medical staff member (C) holding a newborn after a caesarean section at a gynaecology and obstetrics isolation ward for expectant mothers infected by the COVID-19 coronavirus in Xiehe hospital in Wuhan in China&#039;s central Hubei province. - China on March 8 reported its lowest number of new coronavirus infections since January, with nearly all the 44 new cases in the outbreak epicentre Wuhan. 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(Photo by STR\/AFP via Getty Images)\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">This March 7, 2020, photo shows a medical staff member (C) holding a newborn in Xiehe hospital in Wuhan in China\u2019s central Hubei province. (STR\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>In May 2020, the Chinese government \u201cdisappeared\u201d Zhang. After seven months of arbitrary detention, they tried her on the all-purpose charge of \u201cpicking quarrels and provoking trouble\u201d and&nbsp;<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/12\/28\/world\/asia\/china-Zhang-Zhan-covid-convicted.html\"><span>sentenced<\/span><\/a><span>&nbsp;her to four years in prison in December 2020. She refused to plead guilty, which in China usually means a longer, harsher sentence.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Zhang launched a hunger strike soon after her arrest. She appeared at her closed-door 2020 trial in a wheelchair and was barely able to speak, according to her lawyers. The lawyers also said Zhang\u2019s captors have been force-feeding her through nasal tubes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Zhang\u2019s mother told <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rfa.org\/english\/news\/china\/jailed-11022021094244.html\"><span>Radio Free Asia<\/span><\/a><span> (RFA) on Tuesday that she wept when she saw how much Zhang\u2019s health had deteriorated during an October 28 video call.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cShe can\u2019t walk unassisted now, and her head keeps drooping as she speaks. She will be in huge danger if they don\u2019t release her on medical parole,\u201d Zhang\u2019s mother said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cZhan is 177cm tall, now she has less than 40 kg wt. She may not survive the coming cold winter. I hope the world remembers how she used to be,\u201d her brother Zhang Ju said on social media this week.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B3\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\" readability=\"8.046511627907\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Zhan is 177cm tall, now she has less than 40kg wt. She may not survive the coming cold winter. I hope the world remember how she used to be. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/6hJ5AxBH88\">pic.twitter.com\/6hJ5AxBH88<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Ju Zhang (@Jeffreychang81) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Jeffreychang81\/status\/1454381076068007949?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 30, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span>\u201cIn her heart, it seems there is only God and her beliefs, with no care for anything else,\u201d Ju <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ndtv.com\/world-news\/journalist-zhang-zhan-jailed-for-covid-coverage-in-china-now-close-to-death-2599786\"><span>said<\/span><\/a><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p><span>News of her physical condition prompted Amnesty International (AI) and Human Rights Watch (HRW) to demand Zhang\u2019s immediate release.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cZhang Zhan, who should never have been jailed in the first place, now appears to be at grave risk of dying in prison,\u201d&nbsp;<\/span><span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amnesty.org\/en\/latest\/news\/2021\/11\/china-release-jailed-wuhan-activist-close-to-death-after-hunger-strike\/\">said<\/a> AI\u2019s Gwen Lee on Thursday. \u201cThe Chinese authorities must release her immediately so that she can end her hunger strike and receive the appropriate medical treatment she desperately needs.\u201d&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThe Chinese government\u2019s prosecution of Zhang Zhan, simply because she tried to uncover what was happening in Wuhan amid huge government secrecy about the pandemic, is a shameful attack on human rights,\u201d Lee said.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B4\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p><span>\u201cPending her release, she must have regular, unrestricted access to her family and lawyers of her choice, and not be subjected further to any ill-treatment. If Zhang Zhan dies in prison, her blood will be on the Chinese government\u2019s hands,\u201d she warned.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>AI added that reports Zhang was restrained for force-feeding, and shackled for over three months as punishment for her hunger strike, indicate clear human rights violations.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\" readability=\"7.4157303370787\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Journalist Zhang Zhan was jailed for reporting on the early days of the <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Covid19?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Covid19<\/a> pandemic in Wuhan. Now she is at risk of dying if she is not urgently released to receive medical treatment. <\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/XweDJduwBe\">https:\/\/t.co\/XweDJduwBe<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Amnesty International (@amnesty) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/amnesty\/status\/1456248617509982212?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 4, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span>\u201cThe Chinese government needs to be held to account for allowing yet another peaceful critic to fall gravely ill while unjustly imprisoned,\u201d&nbsp;<\/span>HRW\u2019s senior China researcher Yaqiu Wang <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2021\/11\/04\/china-release-gravely-ill-activist\">said<\/a>. \u201cGovernments should call for Zhang Zhan\u2019s urgent release to prevent an already terrible situation from becoming a tragic one.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cUnjust sentences handed down against activists in China frequently end up being death sentences,\u201d Wang noted.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cI think it would be very meaningful if we could save Zhang Zhan, because she will never give up her hunger strike while she\u2019s in prison. In these very dark times, she won\u2019t try to protect herself, she won\u2019t compromise, and she won\u2019t bow down to power,\u201d&nbsp;<\/span><span>Wang Jianhong of the U.S.-based Humanitarian China told RFA. \u201cShe has always been that way; she has always wanted to conquer fear.\u201d&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>A source close to the Zhangs told <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2021\/nov\/05\/chinese-journalist-jailed-over-covid-reporting-is-close-to-death-family-say\"><span>AFP<\/span><\/a><span> the family asked for permission to meet with her at the Shanghai prison where she is held, but the Chinese government never responded to the request. The prison did not answer when AFP asked for comment.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ndtv.com\/world-news\/journalist-zhang-zhan-jailed-for-covid-coverage-in-china-now-close-to-death-2599786\"><span>dismissed<\/span><\/a><span> calls for Zhang\u2019s release as \u201canti-China political manipulation\u201d on Friday.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cChina is a country with rule of law. Anyone who breaks the law must be punished in accordance with the law,\u201d Wang stated.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The family of Chinese citizen journalist Zhang Zhan, detained since May 2020 for her reporting from the epicenter of the global coronavirus pandemic in Wuhan, is warning that she is &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-976069","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/976069","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/41"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=976069"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/976069\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=976069"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=976069"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=976069"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}