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Chinese Covid Whistleblower Finally Appears After Disappearing 18 Months Ago

Chinese Covid Whistleblower Finally Appears After Disappearing 18 Months Ago

Chen Qiushi vanished in February 2020 after having shared videos of the situation in Wuhan.

Dominic Smithers

Dominic Smithers

A Chinese whistleblower has finally reappeared after vanishing 18 months ago.

Journalist Chen Qiushi disappeared in February 2020 after having shared a number of videos showing what the situation was like in Wuhan at the start of the Coronavirus pandemic.

He had been reporting from the city from January 2020, showing footage of overwhelmed and panicked hospitals trying to deal with the outbreak.

In a video posted on the journalist's Twitter account, @chenqiushi404, Qiushi's mum blamed his sudden disappearance on state interference, claiming that he had been forcibly quarantined.

She said: "I am Chen Qiushi's mother. Please, online friends and especially those in Wuhan, please help me and find Chen Qiushi and find out what happened to him."

YouTube

But Qiushi has now spoken publicly for the first time in over a year, claiming that some of the things he has experienced during that time he can't talk about.

As reported by the Wall Street Journal, Qiushi appeared in a 30-minute live stream published on YouTube alongside martial artist Xu Xiaodong.

In it, he says: "Over the past year and eight months, I have experienced a lot of things.

"Some of it can be talked about, some of it can't. I believe you understand."

Back in September 2020, a human rights lawyer, who asked not to be named, told the South China Morning Post that Qiushi had returned home and was staying with his parents.

However, he said he believed that the state was still keeping a close eye on him.

"Qiushi, who is together with his parents, is under strict supervision by the authorities," he said.

"Since the authorities have decided not to prosecute him, it is actually not lawful to continue to keep him in close surveillance."

YouTube

At the time of his disappearance last year, a friend told CNN: "We're worried for his physical safety but also worried that while he's missing he might get infected by the virus."

Qiushi is one of three whistleblowers who disappeared in the first few weeks and months of the coronavirus pandemic last year because of their efforts to warn the world of the threat posed by the outbreak.

According to reports, Li Zehua, a former TV anchor, was chased and kidnapped on 6 February after she shared videos claiming the Wuhan Institute of Virology was the source of the disease. She reappeared two months later.

Fang Bin, who lived in Wuhan, vanished three days after Zehua, having published footage of huge piles of bodies being loaded onto buses in the city.

Unlike, Zehua or Qiushi, he hasn't yet been found.

Featured Image Credit: YouTube

Topics: covid, World News, Pandemic, Coronavirus, China