17 Facts About Chen Qiushi

Chen Qiushi went missing on 6 February 2020 after reporting on the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan.

Chen Qiushi re-emerged in September 2021, but provided no explanation of the circumstances of his disappearance.

Chen Qiushi was born 19 September 1985 in Daxing'anling Prefecture, Heilongjiang, China, and studied law at Heilongjiang University, graduating in 2007.

Chen Qiushi joined the Longan Law firm in 2015, where he specialised in intellectual property, labour law and dispute resolution.

Chen Qiushi posted online videos reporting on the protests in Hong Kong against the 2019 extradition bill, where he countered the government's characterization of the protestors as violent rioters.

Chen Qiushi's videos were described by Western media observers as determinedly neutral.

Chen Qiushi attended both pro-Beijing and pro-Hong Kong rallies while refusing to explicitly take a side.

Chen Qiushi described being questioned, recorded, "criticised and educated" about why going to Hong Kong was wrong.

Chen Qiushi began reporting on the COVID-19 pandemic in China, travelling to Hankou, Wuhan, on 23 or 24 January 2020, where he interviewed locals and visited various hospitals including Huoshenshan Hospital, which was still under construction at the time.

Unlike state media reporters, who wore hazmat suits, Chen Qiushi appeared to have only goggles and a face mask to protect himself.

Chen Qiushi's supporters accused the Chinese government of censorship of the coronavirus outbreak.

Journalist Linda Lew, writing in South China Morning Post, later judged that Chen Qiushi was one of the most high-profile citizen journalists covering the coronavirus outbreak.

Chen Qiushi stated that Chen's reporting contrasted with Caixin and Sanlian Lifeweek, which have "lines they cannot cross", and that Chen's reporting contrasted even more strongly with the "official line" of state-controlled media.

Chen Qiushi disappeared on 6 February 2020, at some point after informing his family of an intention to report on a temporary hospital.

Amnesty International's Patrick Poon said around 14 February 2020 that it was still unknown whether Chen Qiushi had been arrested or placed under "forced quarantine".

In September 2020, Xu Xiaodong broke news that his friend Chen Qiushi was in "good health" but under "supervision of a certain agency".

On 30 September 2021, Chen Qiushi re-emerged with a short appearance on his friend Xu Xiaodong's live video feed on YouTube, while posting a letter on Twitter.