AP Photo
Li Wenliang, the doctor who got in trouble with Chinese authorities for sounding an early warning about the Wuhan coronavirus, pictured on February 7, 2020.
- The death of a doctor who was censored for sounding the alarm about the Wuhan coronavirus has enraged Chinese citizens.
- Chinese social media was filled with outpourings of grief and anger after Li Wenliang's death, which took place early Friday morning local time, and featured the hashtag "We want freedom of speech."
- Li had warned his peers about the coronavirus on December 30, shortly before the government formally acknowledged it. Police in Wuhan, where he lived, had him sign a letter to admit "making false comments."
- Li's mother has defended her son, telling Chinese media on Friday: "He had so much potential, so much talent. He's not the kind of person who would lie."
- She also said she was not able to say goodbye to her son before he was cremated.
- Anger over Li's death comes as China punishes people who tried to spread news about the coronavirus in its early days, and as health services in Wuhan are overwhelmed.
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Chinese citizens are furious after the death of Li Wenliang, the whistleblower doctor who was censored for warning about the beginnings of the Wuhan coronavirus, and his mother said she wasn't able say goodbye.
Li died of the coronavirus at 2:58 a.m. local time on Friday morning, the Wuhan Central Hospital - where he also worked - said in a statement on microblogging site Weibo. The statement came as part of conflicting statements from Chinese media about his time of death.
"During the fight against the novel coronavirus outbreak, Li Wenliang, an ophthalmologist at our hospital, was infected. Efforts to save him were ineffective. He died at 2:58 a.m. on Feb. 7. We deeply regret and mourn his death," the post said.
LI WENLIANG/GAN EN FUND via REUTERS
Li in a respirator mask in Wuhan on February 3, 2020.
Li had warned some of his medical-school colleagues about the virus on December 30, about three weeks after the outbreak started but shortly before the government officially acknowledged the outbreak. The virus has now killed more than 630 people, mostly in China, and spread to more than 20 countries.
Li had said that some patients at his hospital had been quarantined with a respiratory illness that seemed like SARS.
But he was then reprimanded and silenced by police in Wuhan, and was made sign a letter that said he was "making false comments."
A screenshot of the letter Li signed on January 3. The letter asked him, effectively, to stop discussing the virus, and he wrote: "Yes. I understand."
Li is now being hailed as a hero in China, with topics seeking justice for him and calling for freedom of speech trending on Weibo. Their posts have since been removed from the site, which often complies with government demands to censor politically sensitive content.
The top two trending hashtags on Weibo on Friday were "Wuhan government owes Dr Li Wenliang and apology" and "We want freedom of speech," the BBC reported.
But according to the BBC, those hashtags were quickly removed and "hundreds of thousands of comments had been wiped" hours later.
One comment on Weibo said: "This is not the death of a whistleblower. This is the death of a hero," the BBC said.
Li's death was the top-read topic on Weibo on Friday, The Guardian reported, and had more than 1.5 billion views.
STR/AFP via Getty Images
A photo of Li seen with flower bouquets at the Houhu Branch of Wuhan Central Hospital, where he worked, on February 7, 2020.
Li's death has also been widely discussed in private messaging groups on WeChat, the instant-messaging sister app to Weibo.
CNN called the response "overwhelming, near-universal public fury."
One image shared on Weibo showed someone had carved "Farewell Li Wenliang" into the Beijing snow:
His parents "never, never, never saw" him
In a heartbreaking interview to Chinese news site Pear Video on Friday, after his death, Li's mother said she never got to say goodbye to her son in his final days.
She said the hospital sent a car to pick up her and Li's father, and "then they sent his body to the crematorium."
She said they "never, never, never saw" him for the last time.
"Thirty-four years old. He had so much potential, so much talent. He's not the kind of person who would lie," she said, seemingly defending Li's being reprimanded by Wuhan police.
Li also has a wife, who is pregnant, and a five-year-old son, his mother said. Shortly after the Wuhan virus outbreak Li sent them to Xiangyang, a city about 200 miles away.
The Chinese government has already accused of covering up the virus
Anger over Li's death comes as Chinese authorities were already being criticized for their seemingly slow response to the virus.
Officials had arrested citizens that they accused of spreading rumors online in early January, and detained journalists covering the virus.
The announcement of Li's death also came as part of conflicting statements that saw state media reporting his death, then reporting that he was still alive, and then reporting his death again.
China's Communist Party has sent investigators to Wuhan to do "a comprehensive investigation into the problems reported by the public concerning Dr Li Wenliang," state media reported Friday.
Getty
Patients arrive in a newly built hospital in Wuhan for those with the coronavirus.
Earlier this month the Chinese government issued a rare statement admitting fault, saying its response to the virus had "shortcomings and deficiencies."
The World Health Organization has largely defended China's response, and noted that it had been much more open with the world about the virus compared to its handling of the SARS outbreak in the early 2000s, which it tried to cover up.
President Donald Trump also tweeted his support for Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday, calling him "strong, sharp and powerfully focused on leading the counterattack on the Coronavirus."
Many other doctors have caught the virus in Wuhan, where the health system is overwhelmed and supplies are in short supply.
Alexandra Ma contributed reporting.
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- RF Parsley (@sanverde) February 7, 2020