Citizen journalist and COVID-whistleblower Zhang Zhan, who spent four years in prison for her in-depth reporting from Wuhan in the early days of the pandemic, was sentenced to another four years in a closed-door trial in Shanghai on September 19. International diplomats and observers were denied entry to the trial, and it is not known whether Zhang had any legal representation. Press-freedom and human-rights groups condemned the latest sentence, widely viewed as retaliation for Zhang’s continued outspokenness about China’s human-rights violations against prisoners, political dissidents, and whistleblowers. A statement from U.N. Human Rights Office spokesperson Jeremy Laurence called Zhang’s sentencing “on the vague and ill-defined charge of ‘picking quarrels and provoking trouble’ […] deeply disturbing. […] We call for her immediate and unconditional release.”
Zhang’s sentencing comes on the heels of a new law, scheduled to take effect on November 1, that aims to improve China’s early-warning and response system for public-health threats “by empowering individuals and allowing them to report emergencies, bypassing the government’s usual hierarchical structure.” Xinhua reported that the law will require “medical institutions and on-duty staff to report actual or potential public health emergencies through the online direct reporting system within two hours. Individuals or groups should also report such cases immediately to local authorities or disease control agencies, and...
CONTRACTOR-COUPLE Pacifico “Curlee” and Sarah Discaya have been criticized by a Quezon City anti-corruption group for dragging lawmakers into the flood control mess. Janno Orate, Quezon City Agains...