A citizen journalist, Zhang Zhan, has been arrested in Shanghai on the charge of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” for reporting on the CCP virus outbreak in Wuhan. Some Wuhan residents believe that the Chinese Communist Party authorities arrested Zhang Zhan because they feared someone would follow in her footsteps and report on the ongoing outbreak in Beijing.
According to information received by Weiquanwang on June 20, a website advocating for human rights, Zhang Zhan’s parents received an arrest notice from the Shanghai police department. The notice stated that Zhang Zhan was charged by the Shanghai Pudong New Area People’s Procuratorate at 3:00 p.m. on June 19, and is currently detained at the Pudong New District Detention Center.
On February 1, Zhang headed to Wuhan to report on the pandemic. She live-streamed the outbreak onto various social media platforms including WeChat, Twitter, and YouTube, while helping vulnerable patients and their families advocate for their rights. On May 14, Zhang Zhan went missing, and was detained the next day by Shanghai Pudong police on the charge of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble”.
