“Picking quarrels and provoking trouble”, the catch-all charge often invoked by the authorities in Beijing to stifle dissent, was used against citizen journalist Zhang Zhan last month, sending her to prison for four years for her reporting on the coronavirus pandemic.The move prompted US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to rail against a Chinese Communist Party that “will do whatever it takes to silence those who question the party’s official line”.The statement is no surprise, given that the US…

This post was originally published on South China Morning Post.