SHANGHAI CITY, China — A Christian Chinese lawyer, imprisoned for questioning the Chinese government’s “official narrative” on the COVID-19 response, is at risk of dying from her prayer fast and hunger strike, according to the group China Aid.
Zhang Zhan was the first citizen journalist that the Chinese Communist Party tried for challenging the government’s pandemic response, states the China Aid report. She is in Shanghai City Women’s Prison. Standing 5 feet, 10 inches, Zhan weighed 165 pounds prior to her arrest. Now, she weighs less than 90 pounds, said her former lawyer Zhang Kekeher.
Zhang Zhan was arrested after publishing videos in May 2020 on social media that were critical of China’s COVID response. She was sentenced December 2020 to four years in prison for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” China Aid said.
She was detained on similar charges in September 2019 for reposting information on social media about protests in Hong Kong, China Aid states.
China is No. 17 on Open Doors’ 2021 World Watch List of places most difficult to be a Christian.
