China probes CPC member who criticised President Jinping over virus handling

China's ruling Communist Party is investigating Ren Zhiqiang, a prominent member of the party, who had criticised Xi Jinping for his handling of the coronavirus outbreak in the country. According to reports, the politician-businessman, who is a former head of state-run real estate conglomerate Huayuan Group, is being investigated on suspicion of a 'severe violation of discipline and law'. Zhiqiang had published an online essay in mid-March criticising the Chinese President and his handling of the outbreak. 

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As per reports, the Communist Party and the government's joint disciplinary watchdog body issued a one-page notice on April 7 but did not mention anything about Zhiqiang's article. The letter has been since removed by the censors in China, another organisation that faces regular criticism for shutting down critics in the country. Chinese authorities had previously reprimanded people who spread the word on the outbreak, including the whistleblower doctor who later died of the disease. 

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Meanwhile, the coronavirus curve in China has flattened over the last few weeks and the number of confirmed infections started becoming constant. Yesterday, for the first time in two months, China recorded zero deaths due to coronavirus. According to data, there are currently 1,190 active cases in China, of which 189 are under critical condition. A total of 3,333 people have lost their lives due to the disease, according to Chinese government data. 

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Coronavirus outbreak

The deadly coronavirus infection has claimed nearly 83,000 lives across the world and has infected over 14,46,000 people globally since it first broke out in December 2019. China was the most affected country until last month before Italy, Spain, the United States, the UK, France and Iran surpassed it to record the most number of deaths anywhere in the world.  The virus is believed to have originated from a seafood market in China's Wuhan city, the epicentre of the disease, where animals were reportedly being traded illegally.

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(Image Credit: AP)