The 42-year-old blogger and lawyer who was jailed for reporting on the pandemic in Wuhan will spend more time behind bars for “causing a public disturbance”. Her "crime" was attempting to meet and defend a trade unionist in Gansu. Friends and supporters highlight the deep Christian faith that inspires her courage.

Beijing (AsiaNews) – Zhang Zhan, a 42-year-old Christian journalist and human rights lawyer, has been convicted again. She was one of the first people to report on the COVID-19 pandemic through her blog and, for this very reason, was convicted and has already served a four-year prison sentence.

After her release in May 2024, she once again found herself in the crosshairs of the communist authorities for defending human rights and religious freedom. Rearrested in August 2024, prosecutors launched a new criminal case against her, which resulted in another four-year prison sentence handed down last Friday by the Shanghai Pudong District Court.

Local sources report that when she was re-arrested, Zhang Zhan was on her way to Gansu province to meet with human rights activist Zhang Pancheng.

She was charged again of causing a public disturbance for which she was convicted the first time after a secret investigation, trial, and formal sentencing.

Zhang Pancheng, a trade unionist and graduate of Peking University, was arrested for taking part in protests in defence of unfairly treated workers. According to prosecutors, Zhang Zhan disrupted social order by massively disseminating false, offensive, and defamatory information that tarnished the country's image on foreign social media. However, the court did not release documents related to the trial.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF), which criticised the court for preventing seven US and European diplomats from attending the trial, spoke out against the "cruel environment" in which the "information hero" is being held, calling on the international community to "pressure" Beijing for her "immediate release".

Zhang is known for her campaigns and reporting on rights and freedoms in the country. In  retaliation of her activism, the authorities suspended her licence to practise law.

Even before COVID-19, the Christian activist and citizen journalist was arrested in September 2019 for marching with an umbrella on Nanjing Road in Shanghai in support of protests taking place in Hong Kong at the time.

At the first news of the pandemic, she travelled to Wuhan to document what was happening, publishing around a hundred videos in three months and answering questions from international media.

Arrested in May 2020, she became the first blogger to be convicted for reporting on the pandemic.

A key aspect to understand Zhang Zhan’s courage is her Christian faith, which is linked to China’s Protestant "house churches”.

Shortly after her release last year, she spoke in a video about how her faith had been a precious support during her years in prison, which greatly angered Chinese authorities.

Meanwhile, from outside of China, her friend Jane Wang is presently sharing on his X page several testimonies from Chinese Christians linked to Zhang Zhan. AsiaNews reports below extensive excerpts from one of them, written by another Christian friend from Wuhan:

Dear Sister Zhan,

Today, 19 September, is once again the day of your court hearing. I can only write you this letter, a letter I've kept silently in my heart for over a year. At this time, when you once again face injustice, I've decided to make it public to express, as a brother and friend, my deep concern and longing for you.

Dear Sister Zhan, I truly believe it was God's will. Over a year has already passed since we met in Hangzhou, at West Lake, on 19 August last year. And you've been in chains ever since. Time really flies – that meeting of ours still feels like yesterday. Your smile, your voice, your figure – they're so hard to forget!

The memories are sweet, but also bitter. In August last year, during the scorching summer heat, I was forcibly expelled from Wuhan. After hastily moving, I didn't know where to go. In that moment of confusion, a voice said to me: “You should go see her!” More than four years had passed since you were first arrested, since our last meeting in Wuhan.

After your release, despite the ongoing persecution, you continued to make your voice heard relentlessly. I, along with many brothers, sisters, and friends, were deeply concerned that you might face further persecution. After much thought, I decided to come south to see you. Fearing I wouldn't be able to see you in Shanghai, we decided to meet in Hangzhou, not far from you.

On the morning of 19 August, you arrived in Hangzhou by train – it was the first time you had left Shanghai since your release. I had already been waiting for you for a few days. At the Starbucks coffee shop next to the broken bridge on West Lake, I immediately spotted you, sitting in a corner. I approached silently and waved. You were calm and serene, just like when you were in Wuhan, wearing a simple, white and blue chequered T-shirt. Tall as ever, but with a slightly more curved back and a deeper gaze.

We went up to the second floor and found a quiet corner to sit. I ordered you something to eat and a coffee. First, I asked you about your health. You said your back problem was due to the punishment you received in prison for not bending – a fracture that was difficult to heal. I remained silent, speechless.

Every now and then, strangers would wander around us. We walked along the road that runs along West Lake. You said you used to come here often with your family. And I thought: you could have lived a comfortable middle-class life in Shanghai, but you chose to walk a thorny path, giving up the quiet life. We talked about faith, about civil rights.

On the bench by the lake, we ate while gazing at the blooming lotus leaves, and I told you about the concerns of many brothers and sisters. I told you openly that with your courage and your statements, you risked persecution again. And you replied: “I cannot remain silent.” When I heard you wanted to go to the Northwest to visit the family of a recently arrested prisoner of conscience, I tried every way to dissuade you. But you said, "If I don't do it, no one will go. I was preaching the Gospel to him; now that he's been arrested, I have to visit his family." I listened, I understood, but I could only remain silent.

I knew my words wouldn't stop you. So I said, "Let me pray for you." I watched you walk away, your tall, slightly stooped figure disappearing into the chaotic crowd. I felt empty. I didn't know what would happen. The next day, I left Hangzhou, and you boarded the train to the northwest. A few days later, news arrived of your rearrest.

In the summer of my wanderings in the south, I fell into a deep depression. Time flew by. Since then, there has been very little news about you. Many don't even know you're back in prison. The world continues to rot, and you continue to suffer.

Now, all I can do is continue to pray for you, whenever we can do so, together in a group, or alone in silence. I entrust to God all my worries and my affection for you, Sister Zhan, who loves justice, practices mercy, and walks humbly!

• china
• zhang zhan
• trial
• conviction
• covid-19
• dissident
• protest
• health