A Chinese journalist who bravely reported on the early days of the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan now faces four more years behind bars. Zhang Zhan, 42, received the new sentence on Friday for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble”—the same charge that landed her in prison back in December 2020.
Zhang first drew global attention by sharing firsthand videos and stories from Wuhan’s crowded hospitals and deserted streets. Her posts painted a stark picture of the coronavirus spread, clashing with China’s official accounts. That work led to her arrest after months of on-the-ground reporting.
After serving her initial four-year term, authorities released Zhang in May 2024. But just three months later, in August, they detained her again. Now, she’s held in Shanghai’s Pudong Detention Center, facing charges tied to her recent coverage of human rights abuses in China and comments she made on overseas websites, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
RSF, a leading press freedom group, slammed the verdict as persecution for her journalism. “She should be celebrated globally as an ‘information hero,’ not trapped in brutal prison conditions,” said Aleksandra Bielakowska, RSF’s Asia-Pacific advocacy manager. The group urges world leaders to push Beijing for Zhang’s immediate release.
Zhang’s ordeal hasn’t been easy. Right after her 2020 arrest, she launched a hunger strike to protest her treatment. Court records show police restrained her and force-fed her through a tube. Her former lawyer, Ren Quanniu, once said she faced backlash simply for speaking out on free speech.
The Committee to Protect Journalists echoed the call for freedom. “This is the second time Zhang Zhan has faced trial on baseless charges that amount to nothing more than a blatant act of persecution for her journalism work,” said Beh Lih Yi, the group’s Asia-Pacific director. He demanded Chinese authorities drop the charges and let her go.
China cracks down hard on independent reporting. The country holds the world’s largest number of jailed journalists, with at least 124 media workers imprisoned, per RSF. It ranked a dismal 178th out of 180 nations in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index.
Interestingly, just a week before Zhang’s sentencing, China’s lawmakers passed a new bill to speed up public health emergency responses. It lets ordinary people report crises directly, skipping the usual government chain of command—a move some see as a nod to lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic. But for Zhang and other citizen journalists, the fight for press freedom in China remains far from over.
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