A whistleblower in China has been sentenced to four years in jail a second time, an activist group said.

Chinese citizen journalist Zhang Zang was jailed for four years in December 2020 over her coverage of the coronavirus outbreak.

But just 16 months after her release, she was detained and charged for ‘picking quarrels and provoking trouble’ – a charge routinely used in China to target those who criticise the government.

The 42-year-old journalist appeared at court in Shanghai on Friday and was sentenced to four more years, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), an NGO advocating for media freedom.

Zhang’s friend, named only as Pei, told the TV broadcaster NTDT that people, including diplomats and journalists, were barred from attending the four-hour trial.

She said: ‘The publ

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