On October 28^th, news broke out that Chinese authorities had sentenced citizen-journalist Zhang Zhan to four years in prison. Zhang’s “crime”? Her documentation of Wuhan residents’ desperation at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in China. This documentation contradicted state media depictions of how the government was handling the pandemic at the time. Thus, Zhang’s silencing and arrest can easily be seen as totalitarian. Obviously, the situation is deplorable. Nonetheless, we must examine the facts surrounding Zhang’s arrest and their larger geopolitical implications.

It is not bold to say that China was unsuccessful at containing the coronavirus, but a closer examination of the government’s response to the initial outbreak shows how revealing Zhang’s documentation was. During COVID-19’s first stages, criticism for how China was handling the pandemic was heavily censored, and anyone who attempted to blow the whistle on government misconduct was quickly silenced.

Zhang, a former lawyer and Shanghai resident, provided a counter-narrative to the rosy state media story of President Xi Jinping’s successful management of the virus. Traveling to Wuhan, Zhang interviewed residents, filmed footage and commentary at crematoriums, and researched the Wuhan Institute of Virology, then uploaded her results to YouTube as several videos. The majority of these critically accused the government of suppressing citizen voices and failing to inform residents of the situation. In response, Shanghai authorities arrested her and held her in a short, three-hour closed-door trial for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble.”

China’s human rights-related trials are frequently shady, happening secretly at short to little notice. Ms. Zhang’s trial seems to have been especially so. Zhang Keke, Ms. Zhang’s lawyer, publicly stated on social media after the trial that the prosecutor failed to produce or show majority and core evidence, instead only reading off the evidence list.

Ms. Zhang, who has been held since May, has maintained her innocence. She has been on a hunger strike since June, and, in response, has been force-fed via a tube and placed under restraints. Although her close friends are worried about her personal health, and advocates say she is being treated more harshly for her refusal to cooperate with authorities, her lawyer says that Ms. Zhang has pledged to continue her hunger strike.

We are witnessing a blatant attack on someone’s human rights.

Zhang is clearly a heroic figure. The ability to freely communicate and spread knowledge is the best safeguard against a totalitarian government. Through open access to information, citizens are able to naturally regulate the government and create natural defenses to an otherwise oppressive force. Established and respected political freedoms are necessary to avoid humanitarian catastrophes.

The United Nations human rights office has publicly condemned China’s actions in a tweet, but international aid and continued support for the domestic protestors of Zhang’s trial and sentence would be ideal. By providing support to those protesting Zhang’s treatment domestically, the United Nations could strengthen China’s civil society, making it easier for the Chinese people to stand up against the totalitarian authority of their country’s government. This would create stronger protection against high modern authoritarianism and prevent further humanitarian catastrophe going forward.