Wang Zhicheng

Neither his wife, family members, nor his lawyer were warned of the trial. Yu is part of the group that Beijing tried to destroy with the 2015 "709" operation. In 2014 he was beaten and tortured for expressing support for the "umbrella movement" in Hong Kong. In 2017, he accused Xi Jinping of wanting to drag China towards a totalitarian state.

At least 28 neighborhoods are isolated; schools and universities have been closed after two weeks of opening. Entertainment venues closed. Factories and offices are open, however. 850 flights to and from Beijing canceled this morning; trains reduced or suspended until 9 July.

For He Yiting, vice president of the Central Party School, Xi is the father of “the Marxism of the 21st century". Yesterday was the supreme leader’s birthday. However, his "Chinese dream" now faces COVID-19, unemployment, poverty, tensions in Hong Kong and the trade war with the United States. Within the party, Xi's rhetoric and Premier Li Keqiang's pragmatism might reflect an internal conflict.

The late ophthalmologist had reported the coronavirus outbreak back in December, but was silenced by police. Upon hearing of her husband’s death on 6 February, Fu Xuejie, who was pregnant, suffered bleeding and low blood pressure. She celebrated the birth of their second child with a message: “The last gift you gave me was born today.” The “Li Wenliang’s wife gives birth in Wuhan” hashtag has been viewed 52 million times.

In a video, the former national soccer team striker calls on the Chinese to "no longer be trampled by the Party", which must be "kicked out of humanity". He also suggested a "federal" form of government for China. All references to him and his wife, a former badminton champion, disappear.

They had been closed for about five months due to the pandemic. Churches are the last things to be reopened, after industries, restaurants, cinemas, street markets. Permits from all levels of authority and guarantees on preventive health measures are required. Questions on religious freedom, on the silence of the bishops and the Vatican.

According to the Associated Press, Chinese authorities sat on information concerning the genome of the virus for weeks, allowing it to spread worldwide and become a pandemic. The World Health Organisation praised China in order to get it to release more information.

At the press conference marking the end of the National People's Congress, Premier Li listed policies designed to boost the economy, such as special government bonds, tax breaks, lower business expenses, cuts in bank interest rates, and more welfare spending. Xi Jinping's "dream" of beating poverty by the end of 2020 remains valid. Li’s speech was nice but was thin on relations with the US and Taiwan.

At the opening of the National People's Congress, Premier Li Keqiang makes many promises: support for the recovery; fight against unemployment; openness to foreign investments, "mutual benefit" projects in the "Belt and Road initiative". In the general crisis, the budget for the Armed Forces grows by 6.6%. Taiwan's independence struggle and national security law for Hong Kong.

The court also fined him 7 million yuan (US$990,000). His brother Weiren was given a four-year sentence and fined 10,000 yuan. This is warning against independent commentators and journalists. China ranks 177th out of 180 in terms of press freedom.

Pastor Zhao Huaiguo is the founder of the Bethel Church. A year ago the community was declared outlawed because it refused to join the Three Self Movement, the official Protestant community. The campaign to destroy underground Protestant communities.

According to some ministers, the coronavirus emergency is economically penalising communal life. This has favoured online outreach over real contacts, and church marginalisation due to the great power of the state. Yet the thirst for faith and prayers has increased.