Beijing, China: Medical doctor, Li Wenliang and one of the first eight people to inform the people about the corona virus died last night due to the epidemic, igniting rage and grief not covered by the Chinese social media.
Believed to be a national hero, Li was in custody of the Wuhan police as he spread “rumors” earliest this month.
He has cautioned his fellow students regarding a SARS like virus which was to spread in Wuhan, the epicenter of epidemic, via private wechat message. He got affected by the virus while treating a glaucoma patient, who was not aware that he had already been suffering from the deadly corona virus.
On Thursday, at 9:30 pm local time, the news of his death came, as his colleague posted on his weibo that Dr Li passed away in the intensive care unit.
China’s English language state media, global times reported the story and invited social media discussion on weibo.
His death gone viral on the social media and became the most discussed issue on two largest social media platforms wechat and weibo in china. Millions of people searched and posted their views regarding Dr. Li’s death.
On Friday, China’s anti corruption agency announced to hold “comprehensive investigation” following doctor’s death.
Due to the extraordinary scenario, people filled weibo and wechat with posts showing grief over Li’s death.
The topic “Wuhan Government Still Owes Dr Li an Apology” and “Li Wenliang” were topping the list in the first two hours after Dr. Li’s death.
Li’s death further enraged the nation already reeling from the epidemic which has killed minimum 636 people until now, and affected 31,161 people. Earlier on Wednesday, the WHO stated that the number of corona virus cases declined ever since the epidemic started. A post on weibo states “Those who tell the truth are arrested for spreading rumors and those who tell nothing but lies become the leaders”. “What a sign of our times!”
The Chinese administration and regional leadership is facing heavy criticism over the poor handling of the outbreak.
The local government intended to restrain the information flow following the announcement of first case of corona virus in Hubei, in early December through mid of January, though it was clear that the virus spread from human to human. A citizen wrote on weibo angrily “Why are they still deleting posts on how the local government owes him an apology?! He deserves it! And the government really thinks we are all stupid?” while referring to the hashtags for Dr Li being suppressed.
The Wuhan city hospital posted on weibo account around 11 pm local time that they were trying to breathe life into Dr Li as the people of china were flooding the social media with angry posts and vowing never to forget Dr Li’s name in the battle against corona virus.
While more people joined the prayers in hope of miracle, information started to circulate that Dr li was dead and his heartbeat had stopped three hours before, and the resuscitation was just a tactic to clam people and control their rage.
A source at Wuhan hospital said, “Condition was critical, and he stopped the heartbeat earlier tonight already, but he was put on intubation and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) just out of pressure from the leaders”.
Their statement was later confirmed by a number of online posts showing screenshots of chats among doctors saying the team only attempted to deflect public rage by resuscitate post.
The official account of the Wuhan central hospital confirmed doctor Li’s death six hours after his heart had stopped beating, on Friday 3:48 am.
A wave of widespread furor generated by this post.
The top comment of Wuhan central hospital’s post is “I learned two words today: political resuscitation and performative resuscitation”.
The visual editor at Chianfile, an online magazxin Muyi Xiao said “As a journalist, I refuse to quote the ‘official time of death’ of Dr Li, which is February 7 early morning”.
“It is important for us to determine when he actually passed away, so his death date isn’t assigned by the authorities. He deserves that at the very least”.
The anger towards Dr Li’s death was transformed into something larger, a discontent regarding freedom of speech in china.
People intended to quote constitution of china “Citizens of People’s Republic of China has the right to freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and freedom of press”.
The hashtag “We Want Freedom of Speech” attracted millions of posts and searches.
Following censor of this hashtag, another hashtag became popular “We Demand Freedom of Speech”.
A weibo user posted while referring to the censor of hashtag, “Do not persuade me to be afraid of losing my account, and I hope you are not, either “and “Fear is exactly what they want”.
A top comment came up with the picture of shot during 1989 Tiananmen Square protest, with a banner showing “We will not fall! We will not let the executioners look tall and stop the wind of freedom from blowing”
Telegram groups were made to mobilize the entire nation and prevent rights the communist government is denying to them.
Several people referred to the posts on wechat regarding Dr Li as similar to Wuchang upheaval, a rebellion opposing the Qing dynasty in Wuhan province.
While more posts are being censored related to Dr Li’s death, many people are concerned on how to mobilize the anger into a crack down on freedom of speech.
A weibo user posted “Tomorrow, when you wake up, I implore you not to forget what happened last night”. Further on “We as a nation tend to forget things like this, but for our future, please never ever forget this one”.–Worldwide News