He was hailed internationally for his work and named by Nature as one of 10 people who helped shape science in 2020.
In an interview with the journal that year, Zhang
reflected on his global recognition.
“They say, ‘January 11 was a turning point for understanding that this is serious. It was a turning point for China. It was a turning point for the world,’” he said.
But in China, Zhang faced challenges to his work that stemmed from that moment, according to his long-time collaborator Edward Holmes, a University of Sydney professor who published the genome with Zhang’s permission on an international data sharing website.
…
“The idea that (Zhang) would do anything anti-China is ridiculous given his (national) pride. But clearly the government wanted a certain message to be conveyed, a certain narrative to be put out on the outbreak in Wuhan … by releasing the sequence of the virus he broke that instruction – and it all stems from that,” Holmes told CNN on Monday.
“In the old days, pre-Covid … he was like a machine and now the machine is broken. He’s just been slowly crushed by this.”
…
In a Weibo post on January 11 marking the fourth anniversary of his Covid disclosure, Zhang appeared to allude to the challenges he has faced in the years since.
“Four years ago this morning, on behalf of the research team, we insisted on putting life first and made the right choice,” Zhang wrote.
“Despite going through continuous ups and downs, experiencing the warmth and cold of human emotion, and the harshness of the world, we have no regrets.”
But recent years have taken a steep toll on Zhang, according to Holmes.
“He’s not the same in terms of his productivity, he’s completely different – not the same person at all.
It’s just been extraordinary to watch and extraordinary that it’s come to this,” he said.
Holmes, who had limited email contact with Zhang during his protest this week, said the Chinese virologist had told him he recently failed in his pursuit of a legal case against the Shanghai center for its handling of his contract.
“(All this has) gone on for a long time … but I hadn’t realized how bad it had got,” Holmes said.