A Chinese citizen journalist who posted videos from Wuhan during the coronavirus outbreak reemerged online on Wednesday, claiming that he was detained by police and forced to quarantine himself over a period of nearly two months.
The disappearance of Li Zehua, who says he was ordered to hand over his devices to a friend, points to Chinas continued crackdown on online speech as it tries to recast its handling of the coronavirus. Authorities have sent Internet police to forcibly question hundreds of people and force targets to sign loyalty pledges to the government.
Li, who had been working for the state-run broadcaster CCTV, abruptly quit his job in February and relocated to Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, the Guardian reported.
He began documenting Chinas fumbled response to the virus. With a critical eye, he posted videos on a local crematorium, the Committee to Protect Journalists said, and on the efforts of a local neighborhood committee to cover up new infections.
I dont want to remain silent, or shut my eyes and ears, he said at the time, according to the Guardian. Im doing this because I hope more young people can, like me, stand up.
On Feb. 26, Li posted two live-streams describing how state security agents has been chasing him earlier that day. The videos ended with unidentified individuals entering his apartment.
For months, no trace of him reemerged online until this week, when he explained what happened next, in a video posted on Twitter, YouTube and Weibo:
The intruders took him to a local police station, Li said, where authorities told him he was under investigation on charges of disrupting public order.
Though police later declined to charge him, he was forced to quarantine first in Wuhan, and then in his hometown because he had visited sensitive areas.
Two other citizen journalists, Chen Qiushi and Fang Bin, disappeared after filming scenes of the effects of the virus on Wuhan. They have not reappeared.
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