HONG KONG (AP) — Chinese authorities were preparing Sunday to release a man who went missing three years ago after posting videos of overcrowded hospitals and bodies during the COVID-19 outbreak, a relative and another person familiar with his case said. .
Fang Bin and other people known as citizen journalists published details of the pandemic in early 2020 on the internet and social media, embarrassing Chinese officials who were criticized for failing to control the outbreak. The last video Fang, a traditional Chinese clothing vendor, shared on Twitter showed a piece of paper reading “All citizens resist, return power to the people.”
Fang’s case is part of the crackdown on criticism of China’s initial management of the pandemic, a persecution carried out as the country’s ruling Communist Party tried to control the conversation in the country.
He was scheduled to go free on Sunday, according to two people who did not want to be named for fear of government reprisals. One said Fang had been sentenced to three years in prison for “picking a fight and causing trouble,” a vague charge often used against political dissidents.
The Associated Press was unable to independently confirm his release or confirm details of the case with authorities.
Two centers of the Wuhan public security bureau did not provide a mobile number for their information office or respond to any questions. Calls to a court that had allegedly convicted Fang went unanswered on Sunday afternoon. A woman from another court who reportedly handled Fang’s appeal said she was not authorized to answer questions.
In early 2020, the initial outbreak of COVID-19 hit the city of Wuhan, population 11 million, in the central Chinese province of Hubei. The city was confined for 76 days, with its streets deserted except for ambulances and security personnel.
In those days, a small group of citizen journalists tried to tell their stories and those of others with smartphones and social media accounts, a challenge to the strict monopoly of information exercised by the Communist Party.
Although the movement was small, its scale was unprecedented in any other disease outbreak or disaster in China.
But the information they shared soon got them into trouble. Fang and another citizen journalist, Chen Qiushi, went missing in February.
Chen reappeared in September 2021 on his YouTube account, saying that he had suffered from depression. She did not give details about her disappearance.
Another citizen journalist, Zhang Zhan, who had also reported on the first phase of the outbreak, was sentenced in December 2020 to four years in prison on charges of picking a fight and stirring up trouble. Some eight months later, her lawyer said that her health had deteriorated after a long hunger strike.
Wu reported from Taipei, Taiwan.
