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Chinese internet users pay tribute to Wuhan doctor Li Wenliang on second anniversary of Covid-19 warning
- Weibo users honour memory of doctor who was punished for warning classmates about the disease that later killed him
- The medic’s death prompted a public outcry and now his social media account has become a place for people to share thoughts they cannot express elsewhere
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Thousands of Chinese internet users have left messages on the Weibo account of Li Wenliang, the doctor punished for alerting his colleagues to the Covid-19 outbreak in Wuhan, to mark the second anniversary of his warning.
On December 30, 2019, Li, who worked as an ophthalmologist at the Wuhan Central Hospital, posted a message on a WeChat group warning his classmates from medical school about an outbreak of undiagnosed pneumonia at his hospital.
A screenshot of his post was leaked and circulated online on December 31, a day before the local health authority made an official announcement saying that 27 cases of viral pneumonia of an unknown cause had been detected.
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On January 1, Wuhan police said they were punishing eight people for “spreading rumours”, including Li.
Later that month, the doctor became infected by the virus and died in hospital on February 7, prompting an intense public outcry.
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His death became the focus for public anger about the initial chaotic response to the outbreak and the lack of transparency from the authorities.
Currently, there are more than a million comments on his Weibo account, with many people posting messages on Thursday that read: “Happy New Year, Dr Li.”
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