A journalist who disappeared while probing a coronavirus cover-up in Wuhan reappeared 2 months later, praising the police who detained him

• A reporter in Wuhan, China, who disappeared two months ago while investigating a coronavirus-related cover-up has reemerged and praised the police who tracked him down.
• Li Zehua had interviewed coronavirus victims and documented claims of a cover-up on his YouTube page. He disappeared on February 26.
• But in a video published Wednesday, he said police detained him on suspicion of disrupting public order, but didn't charge him, placing him under supervised quarantine instead.
• "Throughout the whole process, police officers acted civil and legally, making sure that I was resting and eating well. They really cared for me," Li said.
• In a video filmed before his disappearance, Li had said: "I'm doing this because I hope more young people can, like me, stand up."
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A Chinese citizen journalist who vanished while probing a coronavirus cover-up in Wuhan has reappeared two months later, praising the police who detained him.

In February, Li Zehua, who also goes by Kcriss Li, had interviewed Wuhan residents infected with the coronavirus and was investigating allegations of a local effort to cover up new infections. He posted his reporting in videos on YouTube, Twitter, and microblogging platform Weibo.

(YouTube and Twitter are blocked in China, but many citizens use virtual private networks — VPNs — to bypass censors.)

Just before 6 p.m. on February 26, Li was followed home by a white SUV, with its occupants yelling at him to pull over. He made it home, 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) away, and started livestreaming a video about the chase.

That was the last time he was heard for 56 days.

But on Wednesday, Li posted a new video to his social media accounts in which he explained what had become of him.

Li said that after the car chase, officers in security uniforms and hazmat suits knocked on his door. He didn't respond, and the people went away.

Three hours later, officers arrived at his apartment again and took him to a police station — you can see this around the 3 minute, 14 second mark in the vide above.

The officers then told Li that he was being detained in relation to the disruption of public order, but chose not to charge him, Li said.

Li said that because he had been in a "sensitive epidemic areas" police told him he had to go into quarantine. China has reportedly confined multiple whistleblowers and critics to house arrest under the pretext of quarantine during the pandemic.

Li said he was let go on March 28, and since that time has been spending time with family.

But, in stark contrast to the tone of his reporting from Wuhan, Li's latest video saw him heap praise on the police who detained him.

"Throughout the whole process, police officers acted civil and legally, making sure that I was resting and eating well. They really cared for me," Li said.

"I had three meals a day, felt safe with guards, and got to watch the news every day."

"Thank you everyone who took care and were concerned for me! I hope that everyone suffering in the epidemic get well soon. May God bless China and people in the world unite," he added.

In several of his older videos, Li stressed that something had gone wrong in Wuhan, and that he felt it was his duty to document the grievances of citizens.

"I don't want to remain silent, or shut my eyes and ears. It's not that I can't have a nice life, with a wife and kids. I can. I'm doing this because I hope more young people can, like me, stand up," he said in one video.

Li's motto, splashed across graphics on his YouTube page, is: "Never Give Up."

Li is among a number of journalists and whistleblowers in China who have been silenced after criticizing the government amid the coronavirus crisis.

Alexandra Ma contributed reporting.