Imprisoned Chinese Citizen Journalist Not Well, Lawyer Says

Imprisoned Chinese Citizen Journalist Not Well, Lawyer Says
Zhang Zhan stands near scaffoldings outside a shop during a visit to Wuhan in Hubei province, China, on April 11, 2020. Courtesy of Melanie Wang via AP
The Associated Press
Updated:

TAIPEI, Taiwan—A Chinese citizen journalist serving a four-year sentence after reporting on the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic in the city of Wuhan is in ill health after staging a long-running hunger strike, according to a lawyer who spoke with her family.

Zhang Zhan was hospitalized on July 31 and now weighs less than 40 kilograms (90 pounds), according to a message sent by Zhang Zhan’s mother to a group on Chinese social media. Authorities notified the family that she was in poor health and told them to come to the prison, said Peng Yonghe, a lawyer who spoke with Zhang’s mother about the visit.