Skip to content

Zhang Zhan: The 'rebellious soul' jailed for filming Wuhan

Earlier this week, a Chinese court sentenced former lawyer Zhang Zhan to four years in jail for reporting on the Covid outbreak in Wuhan.

The 37-year-old citizen journalist had travelled independently to the city while it was under lockdown, and posted several videos online she had filmed in hospitals and on the streets. She was later charged with "picking quarrels and provoking trouble".

Days before her arrest in May, Ms Zhang spoke to an independent filmmaker about why she felt it was important to document what she saw.

The BBC has obtained the footage of what is thought to be Ms Zhang's last interview before she was detained.

Video by BBC Chinese and Andreas Illmer.

31 December 2020

Explore More

Composite image of Sir Keir Starmer and BBC Radio WM presenter Kath Stanczyszyn, who is pictured wearing headphones and speaking into a purple microphone

Will there be a Birmingham pub bombings inquiry?

Birmingham & Black Country

A huge Christmas tree on a flatbed lorry in font of the US Capitol building

US Capitol Christmas tree arrives in DC

Blurred still image from video clips shows people being taken out of a car

Migrants asked to rate trip in smuggler review videos

John Darvall sat on the left of a composite image, in a purple studio with a microphone in front of him. On the right is Keir Starmer with grey hair and brown glasses.

PM challenged on West's councils facing bankruptcy

BBC Newsline

BBC Newsline signed summary

A road sign for Blue Lagoon with flames in background

Lava engulfs Iceland's Blue Lagoon car park

BBC Scotland weather presenter Christopher Blanchett in front of a weather map of Scotland showing snow warnings.

Watch the Storm Bert weather forecast for Scotland

Mural of The Smiths bassist Andy Rourke unveiled

Parts of West Burton A power station being demolished

Power station demolition captured by drone

Man clinging to a cliff being rescued

Moment person clinging to cliff is rescued by helicopter

A woman in a hospital gown grins on the left and a monitor lit up with lungs is on the right of a split screen.

Woman gets first double lung transplant done by robot

Ryan Borgwardt

US kayaker who faked own death thought to have fled to Europe

Ruth Dodsworth in the BBC studios in Cardiff. She is sitting on an orange sofa. She has cropped blonde hair and is wearing a fitted mauve top,

Stalking was part of my daily life, says presenter

A Christmas tree with lots of blue and green lights. A building nearby has yellow lights and a red bow so it looks like a present. You can see people stood in front of the building.

Manx capital sparkles at Christmas lights switch-on

BBC News

East of England weather forecast

A woman has her make up done in a Swansea salon for Beaujolais Day

'Beaujolais day is Swansea's Christmas'

A woman polished a large Gromit statue at the launch of the Gromit Unleashed 3 trail in Bristol. The statue has a multicoloured sparkly pattern. The woman is wearing a red and white shirt and a black dress over the top and she has red hair cut in a bob style

Aardman unveils new Wallace and Gromit trail

Dylan Thomas, who is wearing a blue jumper and has brown hair, is smiling at the camera

Watch: Cardiff murderer's 999 call and arrest

Crowds of people walking streets at night

Thousands rush to US border before Trump takes office

Weather

Strong winds and flooding as Storm Bert arrives

Man runs from tiger behind gate

Chinese farmer has near miss with tiger

Surveillance footage captures the moment a Siberian tiger rams into a gate just after it was closed.

Maori man with traditional tattoos

Watch: New Zealand's Māori protests explained

The BBC's Katy Watson reports from Wellington on why tens of thousands have taken to the streets.

MP ripping up bill as others join in on haka

Moment MP leads haka to disrupt New Zealand parliament

Māori MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke led the haka and ripped up a copy of a contentious bill being voted on.

BBC China correspondent Stephen McDonell is interrupted by an irate man during a news report after a car attack in Zhuhai, China

Watch: BBC China reporter pushed away from filming at car attack scene

Watch: BBC China correspondent ordered to stop filming and pushed at car attack scene

Column of dark ash against blue sky

Indonesia's Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki spews giant column of ash

New volcanic eruptions have spread fresh panic among residents on the island of Flores.

Shenzhou-18 astronaut waving in space gear

Watch Chinese space crew return to Earth

Three astronauts from the Shenzhou-18 mission landed in north China after six months aboard the Tiangong space station.

One plane at Taoyuan Airport failed its initial landing amid the strong winds.

Plane fails to land amid fierce typhoon in Taiwan

A plane at Taoyuan Airport was forced to abort its initial landing amid strong winds.

The Shenzhou 19 spacecraft lifting off, bright lights and smoke come from underneath

Watch: China spacecraft launches in mission to space station

The Shenzhou 19 spacecraft is taking three taikonauts to China's space station, Tiangong.

Mini the monkey

Moment BBC reporter returns tortured monkey into wild

Mini was rescued after a BBC Eye investigation that exposed a global online monkey torture ring.

Anton stands in partially renovated Japanese home

Meet the Tiktokers buying up Japan’s empty homes

Content creators are going viral for renovating abandoned Japanese homes for low prices - but is all as it seems?

Road blows up in North Korea

Moment North Korea blows up roads connecting to South Korea

Pyongyang vowed to sever road and railway access to South Korea in a bid to “completely separate” the two countries.

Ratan Tata interview to the BBC from 1997

From the archives: Ratan Tata's interview from 1997

Indian tycoon Ratan Tata spoke to the BBC on the 50th anniversary of India's independence.

Ratan Tata

India's Ratan Tata: in his own words

The legendary business tycoon has died at the age of 86.

Elephants wade through floodwaters at sanctuary

Watch: Elephants escape floodwaters in Thailand

The elephants were evacuated from flash flooding at a sanctuary near Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Building collapses into flooded river in India

Watch: Building collapses into river in India

No-one was injured in the incident, which occurred during heavy rains in Bihar state.

Woman holding her head with Yogita Limaye

BBC meets women suffering under Taliban’s new law

The BBC hears from women who have seen their rights crushed since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan.

Hamdullah Fitrat

Taliban defends new law that curbs women's freedoms

A Taliban government spokesman says the edict is in accordance with Islamic Sharia law.

Child lying on bed in Afghan hospital

Inside Afghanistan hospital where babies are dying of starvation

The BBC reports from inside Jalalabad hospital in Afghanistan, as malnutrition is ravages the country.

Pope Francis wears traditional headwear during his visit to Vanimo

Pope Francis welcomed in remote Vanimo in Papua New Guinea

In Vanimo, a town near the border with Indonesia, the Pope donned a traditional Bird of Paradise feathered headdress.

Asteroid in night sky

Moment small asteroid lights up night sky in Philippines

European Space Agency say the asteroid, dubbed 2024 RW1, was "harmless" but created a "spectacular fireball".