February 10, 2020, 01:51 AM
Anger and grief has been flowing through the intranet in China following the death of Li Wenliang, the Wuhan doctor who was one of the first to warn about the deadly coronavirus.
The outpouring of emotions has since overflowed from the online space to the offline world, in a rare display of displeasure and immense sadness in China that has become visible and public in the city of Wuhan.
Li, 34, died from the virus early on Friday morning, Feb. 7.
Popular lore in China now has it that the doctor's death ended up being announced twice as the authorities struggled to deal with the backlash after Li was first pronounced dead.
This was after the first report caused widespread outrage on Chinese social media, so much so that officials tried unsuccessfully to resuscitate the doctor back to life again.
Residents blow whistles
In his memory, a small crowd gathered on Friday evening outside the Wuhan Central Hospital, where Li worked and died.
They left behind bouquets of flowers and blew whistles loudly, a fitting display considering that Li was a whistleblower.
吹哨纪念 #李文亮，2月6日言论自由日，千呼万唤，不如街头一站。 pic.twitter.com/UEUIdlp9qH
— 周锋锁 Fengsuo Zhou (@ZhouFengSuo) February 7, 2020
Residents living in high-rise apartment buildings in Wuhan also caused a ruckus, as they screamed out of their windows and blew their whistles at night.
整个武汉都在震颤，因为他们约好了在今晚这一刻，为珍惜他们生命的人呐喊，为敢讲出真话的人呐喊！李医生你听到了吗？
— 新闻/真话 (@TuCaoFakeNews) February 7, 2020
一切都像是去年的香港的复刻，恍如隔世！
pic.twitter.com/atrDpDTlGp
A temporary farewell message for the doctor was also spotted scrawled on a snowed out road in Beijing.
The message read: “Farewell to Li Wenliang.”
Three photos that perfectly captured the national grief of Dr. Li.
— Tony Lin 林東尼 (@tony_zy) February 7, 2020
A man in Beijing wrote his farewell in the snow. He then lied down, using his body to shape an exclamation mark.
“Farewell to Li Wenliang!” It reads. Even the punctuation is sad. pic.twitter.com/8nBsU7E1tF
Chinese citizens have flooded Weibo and WeChat with criticisms of the government in unprecedented ways no seen in China for years.
They are making their feelings heard despite the heavy censorship.
Latest censored on Weibo:"Tonight, let me blow the whistle for Wuhan."
— Nectar Gan (@Nectar_Gan) February 7, 2020
This is an online call for people in Wuhan, Hubei and the rest of the world to mourn Li Wenliang's death & pay tribute
8:55-9:00 Light off
9:00-9:05 Shine flashlight out the window & blow the whistle pic.twitter.com/gJHI8vSAHM
From Weibo:
— Frankie Huang 黄碧赤 (psst find me on bluesky) (@ourobororoboruo) February 6, 2020
Question: If someone went back in time to Wuhan one month ago, can he help avert disaster?
Answer: No, he would be the 9th ‘rumor spreader’. pic.twitter.com/uWW2C9dJhO
“A doctor had to die twice. THAT is national humiliation.”
— Carol Yin (@CarolYujiaYin) February 6, 2020
🕯#LiWenliang pic.twitter.com/8bvCR5hNFV
In early January, Li was one of eight whistleblowers, all of whom are believed to be doctors or medical professionals, to be hauled up by police in Wuhan for “spreading rumours” about a mysterious virus.
Li was forced to sign a letter, declaring that he would “heed the advice of police” and “stop illegal behavior”, or else, be met by the “full force of the law”.
The revelation that he was ultimately right is now coming back to haunt the local authorities, as well as Beijing, for not acting faster, and even putting resources into keeping naysayers at bay.
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