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A yr ago, I was in Wuhan covering a viral pneumonia that turned out to be Covid-19. Jan 5, 2020, I was taken to a police station at Jinyintan Hospital where I was talking to family members, questioned & had my photos & notes deleted - some reflections https://twitter.com/Lindadalew/status/1233280238873743360?s=20
I tried hard not to let this bias my reporting but together w/ how lil was known abt this virus, almost every measure the CN gov took in the early days, it was viewed w/ suspicion & criticism, such as Wuhan building temp hospitals which actually did help https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3048490/chinas-race-build-temporary-hospitals-fight-coronavirus-too
When Wuhan revised up its death toll, at the time an epidemiologist I spoke to said it was normal during a pandemic, as the chaos in the healthcare system would have led to mistakes. But many saw it as proof that CCP was fabricating data & covering up https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3080437/wuhan-revises-coronavirus-toll-half-cover-deaths-home
Which make no mistake, the CN gov absolutely did & I experienced it 1st hand. But it hit home for me how challenging & nuanced reporting on China is, esp during a pandemic where unknowns, science, politics, public health, human suffering all converged
I wondered if residents I talked to were able to share how they really felt or they held back for fear of reprisals. Or if I'm being a condescending outsider making assumptions abt how ppl expressed their opinions. It's a que I cont to ponder https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3051947/locked-land-loss-and-regretting-one-month-china-under
Fake news in CN has come to pose an opposite challenge - where the gov uses it as an excuse to deny or delay release of info. Chatter had swirled around for weeks on covid prison outbreaks but local authorities said it was just rumours https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3051858/china-sends-top-investigators-after-coronavirus-erupts-jails
I had talked to online users who knew abt the outbreaks & called the local CDC for confirmation but their lips were sealed. I cldn't find contacts at the prisons to verify the online chatter. We couldn't report anything until the central authorities stepped in & confirmed it
It's been a hard yr for everyone, but more so for human rights lawyers, citizen journalists & dissidents in CN. Zhang Zhan was sentenced to 4 yrs jail after reporting on Wuhan, several dissidents or really just volunteers r still waiting trials https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3115529/coronavirus-citizen-journalist-china-sentenced-four-years-jail
So I will take the small wins where I can find them, even tho I wasn't there I cheered watching vids of fireworks being let off when Wuhan started to lift its lockdown https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3076270/coronavirus-fireworks-wuhan-checkpoints-are-taken-down-other
I was only in Wuhan for a few days. Later, I talked to an editor abt what happened. After making sure I was ok, he said: well, if you're reporting on CN & you've never gotten into trouble w/ the police, are you even reporting on anything impt? I wish it didn't have to be this way
