Secretary of State MICHAEL R. Pompeo on the Suppression and Prosecution of Citizen Journalist Zhang Zhan of the People’s Republic of China
U.S. Department of State
Office of the Spokesman
Washington, D.C. (Washington, D.C.)
December 29, 2020
The United States strongly condemns the absurd prosecution and sentencing of citizen journalist Zhang Zhan by the People’s Republic of China on December 28. We demand that the government of the People’s Republic of China immediately and unconditionally release her. The Communist Party of China has once again demonstrated that it will do everything in its power to silence those who question the party’s official line, even in cases involving vital public health information.
Lies are a hallmark of authoritarian regimes, and not a momentary oversight. From the beginning, the Chinese Communist Party has used a clampdown and manipulation tactic on news of the COVID-19 coronavirus disease outbreak in Wuhan, brutally silencing other courageous truth-tellers such as Dr. Li Wenliang, Chen Qiushi and Fang Bin. As a result of the grossly irresponsible attitude of the Chinese Communist Party, the rest of the world had to rely heavily on uncensored reports published by citizen journalists such as Zhang Zhan to get a true picture of the situation in Wuhan after the Chinese Communist Party tightened its control over the media. As a result, what turned out to be a manageable epidemic turned into a serious global pandemic. The fact that foreign observers were not allowed to sit in on her hasty trial shows how much the Chinese Communist Party fears Chinese citizens who dare to speak out.
The PRC government’s fear of transparency and continued suppression of fundamental freedoms is not a sign of strength, but a sign of weakness and a threat to all of us. The United States will continue to support the rights of Chinese citizens to freely and peacefully express their views.
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