'Wuhan Diary' Writer Removed from Chinese Literary Association

jpnn.com, CHINA - The author of the novel "Wuhan Diary", Fang Fang, has been removed from the list of members of the 10th National Congress of the Chinese Writers' Association (CWA).

Former CWA deputy chairman Zhang Kangkang, who has defended Fang, was also removed from the list, Chinese media reported Saturday.

In fact, both names were listed at the CWA's 9th National Congress in 2018 as written on the chinawriter.com page.

The disappearance of Fang's name from the list might be because her literary work, which describes the lives of the people of Wuhan during the total lockdown in early 2020, is considered biased and contains rumors and criticism against local authorities.

In his opening remarks of the 11th National Congress of the Chinese Federation of Literature and Arts Circles (CFLAC) and the 10th National Congress of the CWA, Chinese President Xi Jinping said that writers and artists should not be slaves to the market, but should strengthen culture and contribute to realizing China's national reform.

During the lockdown, Fang wrote "Wuhan Diary" in January-March 2020. Her writing tells about what she saw and heard to reflect on her experiences.

The literary work of the 65-year-old writer received an overwhelming response from the Chinese public and the local media.

However, the public became angry when the article, which was divided into 60 titles, would be published in various languages abroad because it was considered tantamount to giving swords to anti-China forces, the Global Times reported.