lørdag 14. mars 2020

Chinese journalism ‘coronavirus crisis hero’ comes under attack online

A reporter who wrote a story dismissing the risk of human-to-human transmission in the early stages of the coronavirus epidemic has come in for criticism online after being held up as a coronavirus hero. The online backlash began after Liao Jun, from state news agency Xinhua, was invited to speak about the role of women in the crisis at a press conference organised in Wuhan, the centre of the epidemic, by the State Council for International Women’s Day on March 8.

Liao took the stage as a representative of the media, alongside two women frontline medical personnel, an NGO worker, a women’s federation official and a cleaner – all described as heroes in the battle against coronavirus. “We must use our pens and cameras as weapons to tell stories about China’s morale and power out loud to the world,” Liao said.