Chinese authors with close ties with the military have staged a mass resignation from one of the country’s biggest writers’ associations in a move seen as a protest against its support for award-winning author Fang Fang’s “Wuhan Diary,” a work calling on the government to take responsibility for the COVID-19 outbreak in the city.

The China Writers Association said in a now-deleted notice that 38 authors who are current or former military officers have quit. The list included Lieutenant General Zhu Zengquan, former deputy political commissar of the PLA General Armament Department, and Ma Guochao, former deputy political commissar of Naval Aviation.

Although the notice has been removed, the names of those who quit the association have been removed from its membership list.

The incident has sparked grave concern in literary circles as well as among netizens who fear it could be linked to the association’s support for “Wuhan Diary,” produced during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic when Wuhan, the city where the novel coronavirus was first recorded early this year, was placed under an unprecedented lockdown.

“Wuhan Diary” is the 65-year-old author’s portrait of life in the city during the lockdown, including her call for reflection on how the virus spread and for the government to take responsibility. The book initially received positive reviews in state-owned media praising its writing, vivid depiction and honesty.

But after Fang began to draw attention and was published overseas, mainland media criticized the work. She came under fire for being too critical of the government, and because the publication of her book abroad had given ammunition to anti-Chinese forces in the west.

Some authors backed Fang, including Zhang Kangkang, the vice chair of China Writers Association, who had her Weibo microblogging account suspended for her support of Fang.

The mass resignation sparked speculation that the authorities are unhappy with the association’s support for Fang.

However, the military has been asking current and former officers to withdraw from not only cultural and literary associations but associations of all kinds.

According to a March directive, controls have been tightened over involvement of officers in group activities. They are also allowed to join only one association and must resign once they reach 70.

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