The first Chinese scientist to publish a genomic sequence of the Covid-19 virus, in defiance of government orders, has been staging a sit-in protest after claiming he was locked out of his laboratory.
Zhang Yongzhen, a virologist, said in an online post on Monday that he and his team had been given a sudden eviction notice from their lab, and guards had barred him from entering it over the weekend.
Zhang, when reached by phone on Tuesday, said it was “inconvenient” for him to speak, but a colleague confirmed to AP on Monday the protest was taking place.
The move shows how the Chinese government continues to pressure and control scientists, seeking to avoid scrutiny of its handling of the coronavirus outbreak.
Zhang’s team appeared to receive a lot of public support on Weibo, where related hashtags were viewed by tens of millions of Chinese.
Some article links appeared to have been removed since they were posted but extensive discussion of Zhang’s dispute with the Shanghai health authority remained online on Tuesday afternoon.
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The first Chinese scientist to publish a genomic sequence of the Covid-19 virus, in defiance of government orders, has been staging a sit-in protest after claiming he was locked out of his laboratory.
Zhang Yongzhen, a virologist, said in an online post on Monday that he and his team had been given a sudden eviction notice from their lab, and guards had barred him from entering it over the weekend.
Zhang, when reached by phone on Tuesday, said it was “inconvenient” for him to speak, but a colleague confirmed to AP on Monday the protest was taking place.
The move shows how the Chinese government continues to pressure and control scientists, seeking to avoid scrutiny of its handling of the coronavirus outbreak.
Zhang’s team appeared to receive a lot of public support on Weibo, where related hashtags were viewed by tens of millions of Chinese.
Some article links appeared to have been removed since they were posted but extensive discussion of Zhang’s dispute with the Shanghai health authority remained online on Tuesday afternoon.
The original article contains 580 words, the summary contains 173 words. Saved 70%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!