Coronavirus: Ai Fen Whistleblower Cannot be Reached After Criticizing the Censorship Imposed by Beijing in the Chinese Press

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is asking Beijing to clarify the situation of whistleblower Ai Fen, who has been unreachable since March 29 after criticizing the Chinese regime’s censorship of the coronavirus epidemic in the press.

On March 29, the television show 60 Minutes Australia has reported the disappearance of the Director of Emergency Central Hospital of Wuhan, Ai Fen , who testified in the magazine Ren Wu , the group People’s Daily, censorship imposed by Beijing. The edition in question, published on March 10, was quickly removed from newsstands and the interview, which has since been copied by Internet users, had been removed from the media website.

Relatives of the whistleblower are concerned that she may have been arrested following the publication of this article and the American media Radio Free Asia claims to have been unable to contact her. On the Weibo social network, the doctor’s account remains active and some reassuring messages have been posted, but doubts remain as to the authenticity of their author because it is common in China for the police to extort passwords from detainees. In the past two months, three journalists and three political commentators have also been arrested in connection with the coronavirus epidemic.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls on the Chinese authorities to urgently shed light on the situation in which Ai Fen, whistleblower and news source for Ren Wu magazine, finds himself .

“By her testimony in the press, Dr. Ai Fen underlines the fact that the censorship put in place by the regime delayed the taking of measures against the epidemic of coronavirus and therefore contributed to its spread in China, recalls Cédric Alviani, director from the East Asia office of Reporters Without Borders (RSF), which urges the Chinese authorities to “be as transparent as possible about her situation and, if arrested, to release her immediately and all journalists and information sources detained in China. “

On December 30, Ai Fen and a group of doctors launched an internet alert regarding the appearance in Wuhan of a virus resembling that responsible for the SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) epidemic, which had caused 2003 more than 800 dead and affected 8000 people mainly in China. Eight of them, including Doctor Li Wenliang , who died after the illness, were arrested on January 3 for allegedly spreading “false rumors” .

China is 177th out of 180 in the 2019 RSF World Press Freedom Index .