He was the first in China to publish the sequencing of the coronavirus, now the authorities are harassing him

Virologist Zhang Jungchen was the first scientist in China to publish the sequencing of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes covid-19. But he published it without state approval, which led to the fact that the local authorities have since made it difficult for him to access work. The latest “restriction” came on Monday, when Chang and his team were evicted from their lab. The scientist subsequently decided to protest against these practices, the AP agency describes.

Similar behavior by the authorities there is evidence of how the Chinese state continues to pressure and control scientists conducting research on the coronavirus. The virologist described his story on the local social networks, and his post attracted the attention of the general public.

It all started over the weekend, when Chang was about to enter the laboratory, but security prevented him from doing so. As a sign of protest, the scientist then settled outside, where he remained despite the drizzle and rain. “I won’t leave, I won’t finish, I’m going after science and truth! The public health center refuses to let me and my students inside the lab office to hide,” he wrote in a post on the Chinese social network Weibo that was later deleted.

The Shanghai Clinical Center for Public Health then said in an online statement that Zhang’s laboratory was being renovated and had been closed for “security reasons”. It added that the scientist and his team can use spare laboratory spaces. According to Chang, however, the replacement laboratory does not meet safety standards for conducting research.

Zhang’s problems with the Chinese authorities began in 2020, when the scientist and his team sequenced the virus and wrote an internal notice warning the Chinese authorities about its potential spread. Then, in response to Zhang’s findings, China’s top health official ordered the temporary closure of the virologist’s laboratory, and the scientist himself came under pressure from the authorities. Zhang was removed from his post at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention and banned from working with some of his former partners, crippling his research.

But foreign experts soon learned that Zhang and other Chinese scientists had obtained the sequence of the virus — and that they were not allowed to make it public. It sparked public calls for publication, prompting Chang to release the coronavirus sequence on January 11, 2020, despite lacking government permission.

Thanks to this, health authorities around the world managed to detect the presence of the virus in individual countries. Subsequently, thanks to Chang’s research, the development of test kits and vaccinations was launched, and at the same time, measures against the spread of the disease were introduced. Zhang subsequently won the GigaScience prize for his sequencing.