Thread by @WilliamYang120

From @cnmediaproject: "Days before her death on May 4, #Shanghai journalist Tong Weijing was kept busy writing from lockdown for one of the city's leading state-run daily. State media have responded with silence to the tragic news of her passing." chinamediaproject.org/2022/05/12/pas…

"Among the first to report the news of Tong’s death was the WeChat public account “Media Daily” (传媒见闻). In its post on May 5, the account quoted a colleague of Tong’s as saying: ...

... 'Confined for too long [under lockdown], the girl had heart problems the past few days, and perhaps was depressed. Her parents are devastated.'"

"Beyond this quote about over-long confinement, the only hint of complicating factors in the background was a screenshot from a private chat group in which a user noted, using the shorthand for ambulance services, that '120 could not be called [in time].'"

"The incapacity of Shanghai’s emergency services to deal with a spike in calls under lockdown was by this point a generally acknowledged fact."

"The 'Media Daily' post noted that Tong had largely written articles on culture and film. It also quoted her former doctoral supervisor who said: 'I can’t believe that such a young and beautiful life has suddenly passed away.

I’ve known her for six or seven years and have chatted about a variety of her reports, always with such gentle persistence and solemn seriousness. [She deserves] respect, and I wish her peace.'"

"Later that night, however, another WeChat public account, “E Di Shen” (额滴神), complicated the story of Tong’s passing with a post citing messages from a private chat group of Wenhui Daily journalists that indicated ...

... Tong had in fact committed suicide after suffering serious mental health issues under quarantine."

"According to the “E Di Shen” post, Tong’s mother had urgently reached out to her colleagues at the paper late on May 4, saying that she had been unable to sleep and was muttering to herself, “What do I do?”"

"One colleague suggested that the family secure all of the windows in their apartment and keep a close eye on Tong, even sleeping at her side. They would contact the hospital the next day to see if she could receive care."

"Around 11PM that night, the colleague received an urgent call from Tong’s mother saying that Tong had slipped out unnoticed and jumped from the ninth floor."

"The “E Di Shen” post asked why Tong Weijing’s death had not been reported at all in the “mainstream media” – meaning in China’s case, the official Party-state media.

Why had there not even been an acknowledgement from Wenhui Daily, the paper for which she had worked so dutifully?"

"When the author searched for Tong’s name in the Baidu search engine, there was just one post hinting at her death, while all the others were her recent and past bylines. “In a Baidu search, Tong Weijing seems to be alive and well,” they marveled."