Anniversary of whistleblower’s death marked

Doctor in ’20 warned of mysterious disease

WUHAN, China — The message was tucked into a bouquet of chrysanthemums left by a mourner at the back of Wuhan Central Hospital to honor a Chinese whistleblower doctor who died from the coronavirus a year ago. It was the number of a Bible verse: Matthew 5:10.

“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven,” the verse reads.

A year ago Sunday, Dr. Li Wenliang died from the virus first detected in this Chinese city. A small stream of people marked the anniversary with visits to the hospital Saturday, some leaving flowers.

The 34-year-old ophthalmologist was one of eight whistleblowers whom local authorities punished early on for “spreading rumors” about a SARS-like virus in a social media group. His situation, eventually made public in media reports, made him a symbol for the perils of going against official messaging in China.

The Chinese public embraced Li, whose presence online had painted a picture of an ordinary person. Hiswife was pregnant, and he was soon to be a father. He sent the “rumor” because he wanted to warn others.

The public also watched as he fell ill with the disease he was warning them about, eventually worsened and died.

Li’s death was initially reported by Chinese state media on the night of Feb. 6, 2020, but the outlets quickly withdrew their reporting. Some hours later, in the early morning of Feb. 7, Wuhan Central Hospital announced his death.

Chinese people grieved his death, online and offline. Mourners brought flowers to the hospital, while online some people were furious and demanded for freedom of speech — posts that were quickly censored.

Li’s death seemed to raise a challenge to the central government, as public anger swelled.

“A healthy society should not have just one type of voice,” Li had said in an interview with the Chinese business magazine Caixin last year.

Central government authorities conducted an investigation in Li’s death, concluding that the officer who punished the doctor should be reprimanded. One police officer was given a demerit, while another was given an official warning, state media later reported.

At the conclusion of the investigation, authorities published a Q&A, in which they noted: “Li was a Communist Party member, not a so-called ‘person who was against the system.’” It said those who labeled him that way were “enemy forces.”

Since then, the epidemic has largely been controlled within China’s borders, and the narrative has shifted to one of triumph. China just released a film — “Days and Nights in Wuhan” — that celebrates China’s official line that the measures it took, including the unprecedented lockdown it imposed on the city, bought precious time for the world to prepare for the pandemic.

Ng Han Guan The Associated Press Residents visiting the Wuhan Central Hospital offer flowers Saturday in memory of Li Wenliang, the whistleblower doctor who sounded the alarm about the coronavirus.