Chinese citizen journalist Zhang Zhan has been detained for a year awaiting trial for the second time, drawing attention from the international community and overseas Chinese. Last Sunday (7th), over seventy Chinese people gathered in front of the Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles, demanding the immediate release of Zhang Zhan.
The gathering was jointly organized by the United States Western Region Headquarters of the China Democracy Party and the Freedom Bell Democracy Foundation. Participants chanted slogans such as “Release Zhang Zhan, release prisoners of conscience and political prisoners,” “We want democracy, we want freedom,” and “Down with the Communist Party.” Elder of the China Democracy Party Zhu Yufu attended the event, along with several other speakers. The entire event proceeded in an orderly manner.
This is the second time Zhang Zhan has been arrested in five years. In 2020, she was arrested for exposing the Chinese government’s cover-up of the epidemic and traveled to Wuhan alone to report the truth; she was sentenced to four years in prison by the Pudong New Area Court in Shanghai on charges of “provoking trouble.” She went on a hunger strike in protest while in prison, putting her life in danger and sparking international attention. After being released in May last year, she helped rescue dissident Zhang Pancheng, who was arrested on August 28 on charges of “provoking trouble” and is currently detained in the Pudong Detention Center in Shanghai, facing a maximum sentence of five years.
The host of the protest, member of the China Democracy Party Zhang Zhanbiao, stated during his speech that Zhang Zhan is a Chinese citizen journalist who bravely reported the truth of the epidemic and defended human rights, not violating any laws, and the legal proceedings detaining her are opaque. With each detention, Zhang Zhan faces severe health crises. Considering the harsh conditions in Chinese Communist prisons, they are very concerned about Zhang Zhan’s safety. He strongly urged the international community to pressure the Chinese Communist Party to release Zhang Zhan as soon as possible.
Member of the US West Region Supervisory Committee Han Lei expressed his admiration for Zhang Zhan’s courage, stating that she did nothing wrong; she only fulfilled the most basic duty of a journalist – to let the world know the truth. However, speaking the truth has become a crime for the authorities in China. He called on people not to remain silent and to join the efforts to rescue Zhang Zhan.
Deputy Chairman of the Los Angeles branch of the China Democracy Party Li Jie said that the purpose of organizing this gathering is to let the world know that in China, people are still being convicted for their words. “We want those behind bars to know: they are not forgotten! We want those in power to know: history will remember, justice will prevail!” He hopes that through their appeals, more people will be able to come forward and speak out.
Zhang Zhan was awarded the Freedom of Speech Award from the University of Brussels, Belgium for documenting and reporting the truth of the Wuhan epidemic in 2020, as well as the Lin Zhao Freedom Award, the Journalist Freedom Award, and other awards.
In the 2025 World Press Freedom Index released by Reporters Without Borders, China ranks third from the bottom out of 180 countries worldwide, with statistics showing that 178 journalists are detained by the authorities in China.