Chinese journalist goes missing after reporting details of the coronavirus to social media
By Donna Baeck
A citizen-journalist exposing the extreme conditions of the coronavirus in Wuhan through social media has been missing since Feb. 6, according to CNN.
Chen Qiushi, a 34-year-old lawyer and journalist, was capturing footage inside the Wuhan hospitals that were crowded with patients and frantic medical staff. When Qiushi stopped responding to messages, his friends and family reported his disappearance, according to CNN.
CNN reported Qiushi had taken the last train to Wuhan a day after the city was placed under a lock down to stop citizens from traveling and spreading the virus.
"What kind of a journalist am I if don't rush to the front line when there is a disaster?" Qiushi said.
Time reported Qiushi's friend and well-known martial-artist, Xu Xiandong, announced in a live broadcast that he had been forced into quarantine by the police.
The public and state security officers from Qingdao told Qiushi's parents he had been put into quarantine and refused to tell his mother where and when he was taken away, Xu said.
Qiushi consistently uploaded video blogs of what he observed to his audience on Twitter and Weibo and provided a glimpse inside Wuhan to outsiders, according to Time.
"I'm scared," Qiushi said. "I have the virus in front of me, and on my back, I have the legal and administrative power of China."
A citizen-journalist exposing the extreme conditions of the coronavirus in Wuhan through social media has been missing since Feb. 6, according to CNN.
Chen Qiushi, a 34-year-old lawyer and journalist, was capturing footage inside the Wuhan hospitals that were crowded with patients and frantic medical staff. When Qiushi stopped responding to messages, his friends and family reported his disappearance, according to CNN.
CNN reported Qiushi had taken the last train to Wuhan a day after the city was placed under a lock down to stop citizens from traveling and spreading the virus.
"What kind of a journalist am I if don't rush to the front line when there is a disaster?" Qiushi said.
Time reported Qiushi's friend and well-known martial-artist, Xu Xiandong, announced in a live broadcast that he had been forced into quarantine by the police.
The public and state security officers from Qingdao told Qiushi's parents he had been put into quarantine and refused to tell his mother where and when he was taken away, Xu said.
Qiushi consistently uploaded video blogs of what he observed to his audience on Twitter and Weibo and provided a glimpse inside Wuhan to outsiders, according to Time.
"I'm scared," Qiushi said. "I have the virus in front of me, and on my back, I have the legal and administrative power of China."
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