China releases Covid whistleblower after 4 years

[everything]

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/pol ... 672188007/

Authorities in China were expected on Monday to release a citizen journalist jailed for four years after she documented the early phases of the coronavirus outbreak from the central city of Wuhan in 2020.

Zhang Zhan, 40, had traveled to Wuhan in early 2020 from Shanghai where she was based, posting first-hand accounts from crowded hospitals and empty streets that painted a more dire picture of the pandemic than the official narrative.

After several months of reporting that included videos, she was detained in May 2020. She went on hunger strike in late June, court documents seen by Reuters said, prompting police to strap her hands and force-feed her with a tube, her lawyers said at the time.

[Bao]

So the police strapped her and force-fed her so she would not starve to death? What horrible police!
Why didn't a police just sit on her neck like Chauvin did? They should also definitely learn more from the US police force how to treat protesters.

[Trick]

Well it’s the common western media narrative on China.
Whistleblowing is a good thing if it’s happen in China and a bad thing if it’s happening to as example the US government, well as long as it’s not a Trump government

Now I’ve somewhat forgotten the timeline time stamps but I think if what’s told in the article that when the woman in question went from Shanghai to wuhan whuhan was already in lockdown ? And she being out and around in the city to take photographs? - It reads as she simply ignored and violated the safety restrictions of the lockdown, that by itself was a serious offense, but how could she enter Wuhan during lockdown ? Only medical personnel and other professionals that could provide necessities for the city was allowed to enter, did she enter on false identification ? A crime in it self.
She do come off as a troublemaker, even the western media can’t hide that, is in between the lines….
4 years is actually quite a mild sentence here in China, and probation time after is probably quite common in most countries, nothing unique to China…

By the way, what did she whistleblow ?

[Bao]

By the way, what did she whistleblow ?

Apparently nothing. That's just a propaganda headline to fool people who don't want to read the full article. According to the article, she just reported about the chaos early in the outbreak. Everyone knows there was a chaos and that they had real problems. So I suspect she sat in jail for either misrepresenting the work of the hospital personnel or obstruction of order. They used a whole lot of resources, so someone protesting and preventing people from doing their jobs could cost lives.

[origami_itto]

Here's her videos, doesn't look like she's keeping anybody from working
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsNKkv ... HOQ/videos

In December 2020 she was convicted by a Shanghai court of "picking quarrels and provoking trouble" and sentenced to four years in prison.

[Trick]

I can’t see YouTube vid here so can’t comment on those. Maybe a short description of the vid could be posted ?
Is it filmed inside hospitals in Wuhan or out in the streets of Wuhan ? Is it filmed during the lockdown of Wuhan ?
What is the woman’s professional background, is she a medical worker or in any other profession helpful for the city of Wuhan during that time ?

[Bao]

Here's her videos, doesn't look like she's keeping anybody from working
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsNKkv ... HOQ/videos

Interesting footage from early 2020, from Feb, Mar, Apr. Seems like honest and straightforward reporting. Can't find anything showing real chaos, anything really upsetting, or abuse either.
The situation, covid and the handling thereof, had a great psychological impact on many citizens.

[origami_itto]

Here's her videos, doesn't look like she's keeping anybody from working
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsNKkv ... HOQ/videos

Interesting footage from early 2020, from Feb, Mar, Apr. Seems like honest and straightforward reporting. Can't find anything showing real chaos, anything really upsetting, or abuse either.
The situation, covid and the handling thereof, had a great psychological impact on many citizens.

Makes you wonder what she did that was worth 4 years in prison, huh?

"picking quarrels and provoking trouble"

[Bao]

Makes you wonder what she did that was worth 4 years in prison, huh?

"picking quarrels and provoking trouble"

Yes of course

[Trick]

I still dont surely know if she traveled to and into Wuhan during lockdown time ?, if she did it was an violation and must have been seen as a serious such considering the rumored/stated contagious and deadliness of the disease,
During lockdown here in “my” town in China my father in law had to visit the hospital once a week(nothing related to Covid ) my wife and I helped bringing him to these visits, amazingly how quiet and non busy it seemed inside the hospital during those visitations compared to how it was and is during regular times pre and post Covid pandemic. If she wanted to film/documented “chaos” she should have waited till the pandemic was over, maybe she used the quietness in hospitals to push a narrative that many ppl were dying as flies ?
Maybe it was so in Wuhan, but my doctor acquaintance that early on went to wuhan to help do not agree with such a narrative.
But here in my hometown it was certainly not deadly enough to make any difference from pre and post pandemic.

[origami_itto]

I just want to go on record as saying all governments are lying assholes.

[Bao]

Yes, it was very strict during the lockdown. But rules also changed fast, so she might have violated some rule/s without knowing it.

I think the Chinese gov has been quite open about most of things during covid, don't know really what they should have lied about. The thing is that it's a one party system, they are in control and can do whatever they want so they don't really need to lie about anything. It's not like they have to care about voters, right? "We do what we do, and if you don't like it, well that's bad for you."

The more authoritarian a government is, the more honest and direct they tend to be. Because the stricter the society, the more citizens need to be clear about rules, norms and consequences. It's the democracies that keep lying all of the time.

[D_Glenn]

They also keep track of all the visitors. My friend has been studying Bagua and mainly Daoism there since about 2000. He said one time they were taken in a van and met with the two people had been assigned to follow them. They had a huge folder full of pictures and notes from the past 20 years of visiting their Daoist temples and wanted their help and cooperation to promote Daoism in China. He said they were scared the whole time until they realized their real intentions.

[origami_itto]

The more authoritarian a government is, the more honest and direct they tend to be. Because the stricter the society, the more citizens need to be clear about rules, norms and consequences. It's the democracies that keep lying all of the time.

Of course, everybody knows authoritarian regimes are the most honest.

The Soviet Union was a model of honest transparency, particularly when it came to matters of international reputation.

[Bao]

He said they were scared the whole time until they realized their real intentions.

Lol!