Zhang Zhan, 37, is a citizen journalist who reported on the early evidence of a pandemic in Wuhan. In its latest abuse of basic human rights, the Chinese regime has sentenced Zhang to four years in prison for her courageous reporting. She was reportedly convicted under the absurd criminal allegation that she was “picking quarrels and provoking trouble.”
According to a The New York Times report, the sentence is meant to silence any others who would share information on the failures and responsibilities of the Chinese government for spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Chinese government has denied any such failures despite overwhelming evidence of a cover-up that denied the world critical time to contain and fight the spread of the virus.
Notably, the Chinese continue to scrub any discussion of its role in social media. It is a chilling example of the censorship that is now being embraced by many in the United States. The Atlantic published an article by Harvard Law School professor Jack Goldsmith and University of Arizona law professor Andrew Keane Woods calling for Chinese style censorship of the internet. They declared that “in the great debate of the past two decades about freedom versus control of the network, China was largely right and the United States was largely wrong” and “significant monitoring and speech control are inevitable components of a mature and flourishing internet, and governments must play a large role in these practices to ensure that the internet is compatible with society norms and values.”
At the same time, Democrats have embraced censorship and speech controls. We have have been discussing how writers, editors, commentators, and academics have embraced rising calls for censorship and speech controls, including President-elect Joe Biden and his key advisers. The erosion of free speech has been radically accelerated by the Big Tech and social media companies. The level of censorship and viewpoint regulation has raised questions of a new type of state media where companies advance an ideological agenda with political allies.
Thanks for drawing our attention to this serious matter, Professor Turley.
Should President-elect Biden return the US to the World Health Organization without a formal WHO reprimand of China for its human rights violations against COVID-19 whistleblowers?
In May of 2020, German Intelligence drew a direct connection between Xi Jinping, the WHO Director-General and a COVID-19 coverup:
https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3931126
Recently, speaking at the end of Germany’s two-year term on the UN Security Council, Chinese Ambassador Geng Shuang said “good riddance” to German Ambassador Heusgen:
“In my last statement, I did bid him farewell, well, pretty much out of courtesy and of course in a diplomatic manner. Now, I wish to say out of the bottom of my heart: Good riddance, Ambassador Heusgen. I am hoping that the Council in your absence in the year 2021 will be in a better position to fulfill the responsibilities and mandate for maintaining international peace and security.”
http://chnun.chinamission.org.cn/eng/hyyfy/t1842159.htm
It was an unprecedented display of Chinese antipathy toward Germany and European values overall.
Almost like here in some parties.
Trump must be drooling over the power to shut journalists up. He’s called them enemies of the people. He has incited his followers to make death threats and he’s instructed the DOJ to investigate journalists who report truthfully about his policies. His attacks have been relentless, deeply troubling and dangerous but yea let’s blame the Democrats.
JT has given us two similar stories demonstrating how Saudi Arabia and China abuse the rights of their citizens. When reading the two posts, try to guess which country has successfully exported their brand of tyranny throughout the world and into our country. Based on JT’s degree of outrage, try to guess which major political party has proven/is proving to adopt tyrannical 1st amendment positions.
Is it Saudi Arabia and the Republicans?
JT’s Our protection of the Crown Prince has been a national disgrace.
Or is it China and the Democrats?
The level of censorship and viewpoint regulation has raised questions of a new type of state media where companies advance an ideological agenda with political allies.
🤔
Like concentration camps for the Uighur Muslims, Trump would approve of this in trade for help on his coup attempt.
Pubious, yes I’m sure the Chinese are tired of winning international leadership and influence while Trump abandons the field and markets like the Pacific Rim (see US abandoned TPP) and recent massive new trade agreement signed with China as a member.
“The Chinese are tired of winning international leadership and influence.” ??? C’mon, man!!
Thank you for proving PubliusFlavius right.
Trump is the one who publicly called for China to “start an investigation into the Bidens.”
The resident ChiCom trolls here will be experiencing highly elevated blood pressure when they see this article.
Boycott buying chinese products.