The United Nations and the European Union renewed their call for Beijing to immediately release a dangerously ill journalist who was imprisoned over her reporting during the early days of the pandemic. Zhang Zhan, a 38-year-old woman, who has been detained in Shanghai since May 2020, can barely walk or raise her head without assistance after going on a 17-month hunger strike, said UN human rights experts on Nov.22. According to the experts, the prolonged hunger strike has resulted in severe malnutrition, a gastric ulcer, and advanced edema of her lower limbs, and other complications. When officials sent her to a prison hospital in late July, she was reportedly tied to the bed and subject to force-feeding. “Failure by the Chinese authorities to act swiftly and effectively could have fatal consequences for Zhang Zhan,” the Special Rapporteurs warned in a joint statement. “We urge them to immediately grant her unconditional …