For 76 days and through 60 blog entries, Fang Fang took to her online space to tell the rest of the world about the Wuhan complete lockdown a year ago, as it was the first of its kind in the whole world. Her blog documented the long hours she spent at home with her dog, the overcrowded hospitals, in addition to the fear of contracting the then-vague virus.
When Hao Wu's documentary on Wuhan picked up more acclaim overseas, guess what happened? Harassment upticks! Now with homophobia as well as your usual 汉奸 nonsense
— Rui Zhong 钟瑞 (@rzhongnotes) January 22, 2021
Fang's blog which has been celebrated worldwide as the only window to the reality in the epicenter of the pandemic didn't spark the same kind of respect back home, especially after getting translated to English and published as Wuhan Diary , following Fang's departure from China after the lockdown.
Chinese nationalists have been heavily attacking Fang's blog, saying it spread fear and presented an untrue portrayal of the weeks during of Wuhan complete closures.
"Because of the 60 diary entries I wrote during the pandemic… I am seen as the enemy by the authorities" says Chinese author of Wuhan Diary Fang Fang.
— Index on Censorship (@IndexCensorship) January 21, 2021
A fascinating interview about the shocking backlash she received & why she won't be silenced in #Chinahttps://t.co/SaZewJj1m1
You know "FANG FANG Diary" is not banned in China, but this book "My Thoughts about FANG FANG Diary" is banned by Amazon, which shows the value of this book...https://t.co/seW8DBZ0lG pic.twitter.com/KF1XmBjHXN
— 凡人日记 (@JfDiary) June 6, 2020
After being chosen as one of 100 influential women in 2020 by BBC, Fang opened up about the attacks she has endured ever since by people, who would rather hide the truth of what the first COVID19 outbreak was like, even though the whole world got to experience similar if not worse realities after a few months.
However, online commentators noted that Chinese authorities tend to feel "threatened" by international acclaim to Chinese works of literature or film when they try to portray a different image of the country than that of the government.
This comes after several reports of Chinese journalists being persecuted for their rule in warning the public of the danger posed by the virus, in addition to other news of doctors whose statements over the severity of the disease urged officials to investigate their connections.
