The writer Fang Fang was popular in China during Wuhan’s closure because of her critical diary entries. However, the wind has changed. The criticism of her is getting louder.
The Chinese city of Wuhan, which has been quarantined for weeks, will have to struggle for a long time with the consequences of the novel lung disease COVID-19. The economic and psychological damage is immense. However, it is a truism that crises also produce winners. One of them is the 64-year-old writer Fang Fang from Wuhan.
Between January 25th, the first day of the year of the rat, and March 24th, when it was announced that the city would soon be closed off, it wrote around 60 entries published on social networks . Initially, she met with goodwill from many Chinese people because they heard a different, critical voice from Wuhan. Meanwhile, however, the wind has changed and Fang is particularly hostile to the younger Chinese.
The accusation against the writer, who was previously only known in China and who received the prestigious Lu Xun literary award in 2010, is that she places her personal advantages above the interests of the country. Criticism had already arisen during the publication of her diary entries, some of which the censors had deleted. In addition to personal experiences, the stories should also include information from hearsay that subsequently turned out to be incorrect. The barrel to overflow finally brought the fact that on June 9th a German and on August 18 an English version of the diary is published. “How can it be that contracts with foreign publishers and translations are authorized within such a short time?” The author is asked.
The younger generation accuses Fang of strengthening, in her diary, the West in its belief that it is a “Wuhan virus””. This would damage China’s reputation, the argument goes. Judging from the furor in social networks, Fang will have little pleasure in the new popularity abroad.
