China threatens citizens who share coronavirus news online with 7 years in jail
The Communist Party has introduced the punishment as a way of controlling the narrative about the deadly outbreak, with police officers reportedly door-knocking to warn citizens.
The Chinese government has threatened its own people with seven-year jail sentences if they post news about the coronavirus on social media.
State-controlled newspaper People's Daily published an article warning citizens not to spread "rumours" about the deadly outbreak online, and a video claims to show Chinese police knocking on doors to inform people of the new law.
The article said those found guilty of "disrupting social order" by posting information that didn't come directly from the government could be jailed for up to seven years.
The Communist Party has attempted to minimise global perception of how serious the coronavirus epidemic has become, even after the death toll from the disease rose to 420.
"The Great Firewall" refers to the Chinese government's stranglehold on the internet, which is heavily restricted in China and censors websites and content deemed unsuitable or anti-government.
The state's repeated claims that coronavirus is under control have been undercut by leaked videos showing people being forced to wear surgical masks and physically barricaded in their homes.
Hospital workers have also posted covert clips showing themselves struggling with the traumatic situation.
An unverified video circulating online purports to show Chinese state police knocking on people's doors to inform inhabitants of the new penalty for sharing coronavirus information online.
This week a man was arrested after he secretly filmed body bags piling up in a Wuhan hospital, revealing the devastating extent of the epidemic.
Human Rights Watch says dozens of people have been detained in China for posting about the coronavirus.
People's Daily launched a campaign to debunk rumours about the outbreak, sharing a series of digital posters fact-checking a number of popular claims, including that SARS was a biological warfare attack and that an infected patient had run away from a hospital in Beijing.
More posters reminded people not to be afraid of residents of Hubei, the province where coronavirus originated.
Other state-owned media has also been sharing stories congratulating the government for its response to the epidemic, including videos of the newly-built 1,000-bed emergency hospital in Wuhan which was completed in less than two weeks.
Source:
Daily Star
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