Opinion | Why Covid-19 citizen journalist Zhang Zhan’s fate deserves greater scrutiny

Among other aspects, Zhang’s case is distinctive for being the first formal prosecution involving the charge of ‘picking quarrels and provoking trouble’ to suppress a Covid-19 citizen journalist

We should also be asking what motivates a defendant such as the courageous Zhang to martyr herself in the cause of free speech

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An activist near Beijing’s liaison office in Hong Kong holds up signs to support Zhang Zhan and a group of 12 Hongkongers detained on the mainland for over 130 days, on December 28. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 8:15am, 3 Jan 2021Updated: 10:45am, 11 Jan 2021

We should not allow holiday distractions, public health concerns or compassion fatigue to induce us to overlook yet another harsh prison sentence on a human-rights activist in China.

Indeed, the continuing controversy over the origins and consequences of Covid-19 that has plagued us this past year should enhance our interest in last Monday’s trial and conviction of former Shanghai lawyer-turned-citizen-journalist Zhang Zhan for recording and revealing many aspects of the tragedies in Wuhan last spring.

I have been asked what is so distinctive about yet another case, in the huge number of unfair cases in China, involving “picking quarrels and provoking trouble”. The answer is that Zhang’s prosecution is the first formal application of this notorious criminal catch-all charge to suppress one of a handful of citizen journalists who sought to report the Covid-19 events in Wuhan. Many aspects deserve mention.

The courageous public comments of her defence lawyer Zhang Keke suggest that, in this case, the defendant may have been allowed to retain her own counsel rather than tolerate the government-assigned lawyers often foisted upon the accused, especially those disfavoured. Lawyer Zhang, no relation to his client, boldly decided to do outside the courtroom more than he knew he would be allowed to do for her inside.

If experience is any guide, because of his forthright pre-trial complaints on social media, his efforts to talk to journalists who were barred from attending the trial and his revelations about the proceedings, he may now be in trouble with the Shanghai judicial bureau that governs his right to practise law.

Lawyer Zhang Keke speaks to the media outside the Shanghai Pudong New District People’s Court on December 28. Photo: AFP