China will be sending an investigative team to Wuhan city to look into the death of rumour-monger turned whistle-blower doctor Li Wenliang.
Decision likely to be approved by Xi
The announcement was made by China's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection -- the most powerful anti-corruption body of the Communist Party of China (CCP) -- on Friday, Feb. 7.
According to the statement, the officials will investigate the "issues raised by the public involving Li".
The statement also said approval for the investigation was given by the central government.
This is likely to mean Chinese President Xi Jinping gave his green light to the decision, as Xi had consolidated political power within the CCP since taking office in 2012.
Death sparked public mourning
Li's death had sparked an immense nationwide outpouring of tributes, with many calling him a "whistle-blower" for being the first to sound the alarm on the coronavirus outbreak.
https://www.mothership.sg/2020/02/tributes-li-wenliang-whistleblower-doctor/?fbclid=IwAR0mykft9paSHm8hctDM_PFr205ezB_lQJbvxiCcmzruKcVALAz1Z3YlvzM
The grief over his death was due to the perception that he was wronged by the authorities when the latter tried to force him into silence.
There was also a feeling among some that a lot more people could have been saved should his warning be taken seriously.
Death sparked rare dissent
Li's death had also triggered an outcry on Weibo against the authorities as well, with several users using the hashtag "Can you do it? Do you understand?" to call out the authorities' unwarranted persecution of Li.
The two questions, which were later censored on Weibo -- were extracted from a printed letter from the police that Li was forced to sign.
Li had posted the letter on his social media, before going back to treat coronavirus patients at the Wuhan Central Hospital.
Adam Ni, an analyst of Chinese foreign policy, told Inkstone News that the two phrases angered many Chinese as they encapsulate "the oppressiveness and indifference of officialdom in China".
Chinese users had also expressed their anger at the authorities for muzzling speech by sharing quotes and videos representative of dissent, such as the song Do You Hear the People Sing? from the movie Les Misérables.
The public mourning was a reflection of the people's frustration with the way the government handled the virus outbreak, such as the initial cover-up, Bin Xu, an associate professor of sociology at Emory University, told Inkstone News.
Scramble to appease the masses
In an attempt to address the public’s outpouring of grief and anger over the late Li’s plight, Chinese state media had sided with the public, heaping praises on him and portraying him as an ordinary hero who sacrificed his life for the country.
For instance, Hu Xijin, the Editor-in-chief of the hawkish newspaper Global Times took the opportunity to slam the local Wuhan government for not doing enough to make it up to Li while he was still alive, saying they owed him an apology -- the hashtag "The Wuhan government owes Li Wenliang an apology" was seen millions of times before it was scrubbed off Weibo.
State media's collective response, as well as the central government's decision to launch an investigation into Li's death, could be seen as an attempt to manage the outcry and not let it snowball into something so huge the government could not handle.
Furthermore, should the government fail to response to the people's grievances in a compassionate manner, its legitimacy might be undermined, according to Xu.
Unpopular opinion: Li's not a hero
However, while almost everyone thought Li's persecution was uncalled for, not everyone agrees that he deserves to be called a 'hero', nor a 'whistle-blower', as they felt he had not adequately informed the public of the virus outbreak.
Such sentiments could be found on Twitter, which is favoured by Chinese dissidents as a relatively non-regulated platform as compared to Weibo.
"How did Li Wenliang become a hero? He didn't risk anything to reveal the information to the public. He only told the people he knew (about the virus), but was unfortunately caught by the Party and given a slap. Just like those who were slapped by the Party, he was a victim, or even a victim who supported the Hong Kong police. He didn't do anything heroic, and didn't say a single bad thing about the Party even till the day he died."
Reply: "He's not a hero, he's a classic example of a victim under the Chinese model. Did his best to live his life, tried his hardest to compromise, but was still unable to escape persecution. Every Chinese person feels the same way."
Reply: "He's a symbol of the countless tragedies. His death sent ripples that reverberated throughout society, and shocked many people from their sleep. Even the WHO, BBC, DW News and other foreign media were mourning his death, and called out the authoritarian political system. He didn't do anything heroic, but objectively did contribute greatly to society."
Top image via Weibo