SW News: The United States is calling for the release of the Chinese journalist, Zhang Zhan after she was sentenced to four years in prison for reporting upon the Chinese government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. The 37-year-old was found guilty of the crime of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” on December the 28th. The next day saw U.S. Secretary of the State, Mike Pompeo, describe those court proceedings as, a “sham prosecution and conviction”. He called upon China to release Miss Zhan immediately adding that her case has again shown that the Chinese Communist Party will, “do whatever it takes to silence those who question the Party’s official line.” Miss Zhan, who is a practicing Christian, is the first citizen journalist to be sentenced for reporting on the pandemic in China, although at least 47 other journalists are currently in detention in China for their coronavirus reporting.