Death of hero doctor who warned world of coronavirus sparks outpouring of grief and anger in China

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Dr Li Wenliang death on Thursday has sparked an outpouring of grief
AFP via Getty Images
Bonnie Christian7 February 2020

The death of a Chinese doctor who tried to warn the world about the coronavirus outbreak has sparked an outpouring of grief and anger in China.

Li Wenliang said from his hospital bed in January that he was threatened by authorities after raising concerns over a “Sars-like” virus in Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak.

He died on Thursday after contracting the coronavirus that has so far killed almost 640 people in China.

News of his death was met with an intense level of grief and anger on social media site Weibo.

Dr Li Wenliang in his hospital bed before he died
Dr Li Wenliang/Weibo

It has also fuelled accusations against the government of secrecy and downplaying the severity of the virus as well as triggering conversations about China’s lack of freedom of speech.

The country's anti-corruption body has now said it will open an investigation into "issues involving Dr Li".

According to the BBC the top two trending hashtags on Weibo were "Wuhan government owes Dr Li Wenliang and apology" and "We want freedom of speech", but both were later censored by the government.

Many have now taken to posting under the hashtag "Can you manage, do you understand?" - a reference to the letter Dr Li was told to sign when he was accused of disturbing "social order".

Dr Li has been described as a hero and accused authorities of incompetence.

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"Light a candle and pay tribute to the hero," one person posted.

"This is not the death of a whistleblower. This is the death of a hero," another said.

"Do not forget how you feel now. Do not forget this anger. We must not let this happen again," another said.

The ruling Communist Party's People's Daily said on Twitter: "We deeply mourn the death of Wuhan doctor Li Wenliang ... After all-effort rescue, Li passed away on 2:58 a.m. Feb 7"

Dr Li was among a number of medical professionals in Wuhan who tried to warn colleagues and others when the government did not, The New York Times reported earlier this week.

It said that after the mystery illness had stricken seven patients at a hospital, Dr Li said of them in an online chat group on December 30: “Quarantined in the emergency department.”

Another participant in the chat responded by wondering, “Is SARS coming again?” – a reference to the 2002-03 viral outbreak that killed hundreds, the newspaper said.

Wuhan health officials summoned Dr Li in the middle of the night to demand he explain why he shared the information, and police later forced him to sign a statement admitting to “illegal behaviour”, the paper said.

“If the officials had disclosed information about the epidemic earlier,” Dr Li said in an interview in the Times via text messages, “I think it would have been a lot better. There should be more openness and transparency.”