Zhang thinks that one-party rule in China is on an illegal footing and has also called for the cessation of teaching of Marxism in universities.
In May 2020 Zhang issued an open letter criticising the government’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak and calling for freedom of speech.
[5] On 9 December 2013, Zhang was notified that he would be fired due to not apologizing for writings championing the Chinese constitution's protections.
[4] Zhang has said in an interview that asking democratic reforms is sensitive and would not result in a response, but that some scholars ask for constitutionalism instead as it avoids the issue of a single-party or a multi-party system.
[3] Zhang is a native of Yugan County, Jiangxi, and was born there to a merchant father and a nurse mother.