Secretary of State Mike Pompeo condemned the sentencing of a journalist for reporting four years in prison on a Covid-1 on China, saying the Chinese Communist Party would “do whatever it takes” to silence those questioning him.
Pompeo said in a statement that the United States strongly condemns the shameful actions of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the December 28 condemnation of citizen journalist Zhang Zhan. We have asked the PRC government to release him immediately and unconditionally. ‘
“The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has once again shown that it will do whatever it takes to silence those who question the party’s official line, even on crucial public health information.”
Pompeo added, “Lying is a symptom, not the fault of a dictatorial regime.”
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Zhang, 37, was sentenced to four years in prison on Monday after he reported on conditions in crowded hospitals and Wuhan earlier this year. He has been convicted of “taking quarrels and inciting trouble,” the report said.
Zhang posted videos on YouTube showing interviews with residents and images from the Wuhan Institute of Virgo Virology.
She criticized the response and was eventually detained in May. “According to the New York Times, in a video, he said, ‘The government’s way of running this city is just threatening and intimidating. “This is really the tragedy of this country.”
Reuters, citing her lawyer, reported that a possible appeal would be made, saying her client believed she was being “persecuted for using her freedom of speech.”
Citizen journalist in China, who reported on Covid-19 for 4 years
Pompeo said the world “relied heavily” on information provided by Zhang and other civilian journalists after the outbreak was initially banned by the CCP and manipulated by the coronavirus. “Her hasty trial, in which foreign observers were denied entry, shows how intimidating the CCP is for truth-telling Chinese nationals,” the statement said.
The Trump administration has repeatedly blamed Beijing for the epidemic, accusing the CCP of lying about human-to-human transmission of the virus and other important Covid-19 information that caused the disease to spread around the world.
In June, senior Chinese officials released a lengthy report on the country’s response and defended Beijing’s action.
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The Chinese government did not delay or cover anything, said Ma Xiaowe, chairwoman of the National Health Commission, at the time. “Instead, we have immediately reported the virus data and related information about the epidemic to the international community and have made significant contributions to the prevention and control of epidemics around the world.”
Edmund DeMarch of Fox News contributed to this report.
