The firewall refers to the country’s restrictions on citizens that prevent them from accessing international sites such as Google, or reading online news critical of the Communist Party.

China jails citizen journalist Zhang Zhan for four years over Wuhan coronavirus reports

Zhang’s wife Shao Yuan said on Saturday that she learned of his sentence from his lawyer on Friday, sparking mixed feelings about the outcome.

She said he had already been in detention since August 2019, time which counted towards his sentence, meaning he would likely be released before Lunar New Year.

“Our child and I have been looking forward to his return ... the process has been very long and very painful,” Shao said.

“But at the same time, I’m sad and worried.

“I’m sad because ... such a righteous and kind person was taken and sentenced.”

Tweets by Zhang on social media, including a series he wrote on internet freedoms and human rights, were presented as evidence in court of his ideological views, Shao said.

Zhang was fired from his job at internet firm Tencent soon after his 2014 meeting with Kerry, and has since maintained a low profile.