Chinese citizen journalist sending coronavirus reports from Wuhan 'is arrested after criticising the city's handling of the outbreak
- Independent reporter Zhang Zhan, 40, has allegedly been arrested in Shanghai
- Ms Zhang sent dispatches from the former epicentre via YouTube and Twitter
- Her clips showed crematoriums, hospitals and her criticism against authorities
- She reportedly 'disappeared' in Wuhan in May before being formally arrested
- Three other Chinese journalists had vanished over their reports on coronavirus
A Chinese citizen journalist who uploaded coronavirus reports from Wuhan onto social media to criticise the city's handling of the outbreak has been arrested, according to reports.
The Shanghai resident Zhang Zhan, reportedly to be 40, was allegedly removed by police on suspicion of 'picking quarrels and provoking trouble', a broad-brush charge often used against activists.
She is believed to be the fourth Chinese citizen reporter to have vanished or been detained after posting dispatches from Wuhan during the COVID-19 outbreak.
A Chinese citizen journalist (pictured) who uploaded coronavirus reports from Wuhan onto social media to criticise the city's handling of the outbreak has reportedly been arrested
One video published by Ms Zhang on YouTube purports to show the ER department of the Hubei Provincial People's Hospital overrun by patients who had to sleep in the corridor
In another clip, Ms Zhang alleged that one crematorium in the former epicentre was working in the middle of the night in mid-February, thought to be burning the bodies of COVID-19 victims
The news comes as Chinese officials claimed that Beijing's fresh coronavirus cluster linked to a wholesale market was 'largely under control'.
Ms Zhang, who is originally from the north-western province of Shaanxi, had been critical of the Communist Party before the pandemic.
Last year, she was detained by the police, also on suspicion of 'picking quarrels and provoking trouble', after showing her support to pro-democracy Hong Kong protesters, according to a Chinese website which publishes updates about activists.
'Picking quarrels and provoking trouble' is a vaguely defined charge often used by Chinese authorities to target activists and dissidents, which carries a prison sentence of up to five years.
It is said the independent journalist arrived in Wuhan around February 1 to report on the coronavirus outbreak.
According to Ms Zhang's YouTube channel, she visited some of the most sensitive places in Wuhan at the height of the city's COVID-19 outbreak, including the Wuhan Institute of Virology, crematoriums and hospitals.
In another video series, Ms Zhang said she wanted to visit the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which has been accused of being the origin of the coronavirus. The institute was surrounded by high-voltage electric fences and run by the military, Ms Zhang said while filming its exterior
China has repeatedly denied the allegations put against the Wuhan virus institute (pictured). Beijing insists that the WHO found no evidence that the novel coronavirus was man-made
In one clip uploaded on February 25, one man told Ms Zhang that he had just seen a crematorium van transporting corpses from Wuhan Wuchang Hospital. 'It's too scary,' the man is heard saying while standing outside the medical facility.
In five videos released the next day, she appeared to film the exterior of the tightly guarded Wuhan Institute of Virology, which was at the centre of startling theories that the virus escaped from there. The institute was surrounded by high-voltage electric fences and run by the military, Ms Zhang claimed.
She also captured how one crematorium was allegedly working overnight in mid-February, thought to be burning the bodies of COVID-19 victims.
In addition, the Hubei Provincial People's Hospital seemed to be packed with patients on March 1 when official figures claimed that the number of daily infections had dropped sharply.
Ms Zhang had live-streamed scenes onto Twitter and YouTube, including evidence of crematoriums operating at midnight. The picture from January 25 shows mask-donning Wuhan residents queuing for medical attention at Wuhan Red Cross Hospital
Grieving Wuhan families have sought legal help in suing the government after losing their loved ones to the coronavirus, according to the New York Times. But some had to drop the idea after being harassed and threatened by authorities, a New York-based activist told the paper
It is alleged that Ms Zhang was 'forced to disappear' by authorities in Wuhan on May 14 and formally arrested in Shanghai the next day.
The news was reported by various news outlets, including Radio Free Asia and The Times. Her father told South China Morning Post that he was notified by police of her daughter's arrest on Friday.
Before Ms Zhang, three other citizen journalists had vanished for publishing reports about Wuhan's epidemic on international social media outlets.
Chen, 34, who went to Wuhan to report about the coronavirus outbreak independently, has not been heard from since 7pm local time on February 6, according to posts on his Twitter account
Fang Bin (pictured), a Wuhan resident, went missing on February 9 after releasing a series of videos, including one showing piles of bodies being loaded into a bus (below)
Chen Qiushi, 34, was last heard from on February 6, and his whereabouts are unknown. Fang Bin, a businessman, also disappeared in early February, and is believed to have been taken into state custody. Li Zehua, 25, disappeared in late February and re-appearing in late April.
China has reportedly harassed, threatened and silenced multiple citizens who vowed to hold the government responsible for its perceived missteps in dealing with the new coronavirus outbreak.
One civil servant, Tan Jun, is said to have been interrogated and gagged by the police after filing the country's first lawsuit against the provincial government of Hubei for 'causing unprecedented losses' to its people's lives and properties.
Li Zehua (pictured) vanished on February 26 before re-appearing at the end of April. Li was likely targeted by secret police after visiting the Wuhan Institute of Virology, a report said
Ren Zhiqiang, a prominent Communist party member who criticised Xi Jinping's handling of the coronavirus outbreak, is being investigated on suspicion of a 'severe violation of discipline and law'. In this file photo from 2012, the then real estate mogul is seen in his office in Beijing
Dr Li Wenliang, 34, died of the coronavirus in February after being punished for sounding the alarm over the outbreak. The police accused Dr Li and other medics of spreading fake news
Other grieving Wuhan residents were allegedly hassled, intimidated and hushed by authorities after planning to draw up petitions against officials over their response to the health crisis, which has killed more than 477,000 worldwide.
Li Wenliang, an eye doctor in Wuhan, was given severe oral warnings by his boss and police officers after sending a message onto social media to warn other medics of a 'SARS-like' disease. The 34-year-old later died of COVID-19 after contracting it from a patient.
Ren Zhiqiang, an outspoken Chinese Communist Party critic and millionaire property tycoon, was detained after he penned an essay fiercely critical of Xi's response to the outbreak, calling the leader 'a clown'.
Also, three Beijing-based internet activists have disappeared and are likely in detention for saving backup copies of censored coronavirus news stories online, according to a relative.
Xu Zhiyong (pictured in 2009) was detained after publishing a series of blog posts criticising the Communist Party's response to the coronavirus outbreak that has now killed at least 4,634
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