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https://www.wsj.com/articles/in-china-anger-simmers-over-coronavirus-doctors-death-11581061065

CHINA

In China, Anger Simmers Over Coronavirus

Doctor’s Death
Dr. Li Wenliang, who died of the disease, was one of the first to warn of it before he was questioned by
police

A mourner in Hong Kong pays respect to Chinese doctor Li Wenliang on Friday. Dr. Li was
silenced by police after trying weeks ago to raise the alarm about the new coronavirus.
PHOTO: JEROME FAVRE EPA SHUTTERSTOCK

By Jonathan Cheng
Updated Feb. 7, 2020 2 26 pm ET

BEIJING—China pledged “thorough investigations” into the death of Li Wenliang, a doctor who
raised early alarms about a new respiratory virus, as public anger built across the country over
the government’s handling of the coronavirus epidemic that has spread quickly across China
and around the world.

Dr. Li, who died early Friday of the coronavirus, had been taken in by police shortly after he
warned former classmates on Dec. 30 about a new pathogen, with police accusing him of
spreading rumors and forcing him to write a statement admitting to “illegal behavior.”

A recent image of Li Wenliang, the Chinese doctor who died in a Wuhan hospital on Friday
morning after being infected with the new coronavirus.
PHOTO: LI ROPI ZUMA PRESS

China’s National Supervisory Commission, the country’s top anticorruption body, said Friday
that it would send a special team to Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, to
investigate the circumstances around Dr. Li’s death.

The Wuhan municipal government, meanwhile, published a notice on its website Friday to pay
tribute to Dr. Li, expressing profound sorrow and conveying condolences to his family. The
National Health Commission and the health commissions of Wuhan and Hubei province, of
which Wuhan is the capital, issued similar statements.

Coronavirus Whistleblower Doctor's Death Sparks Anger in

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Hua Chunying, spokeswoman for China’s Foreign Ministry, praised Dr. Li during a daily briefing
with reporters, expressing condolences to his family and calling him one of many medical
workers who had given their lives in the line of duty.

Chinese online commenters have been calling on the Wuhan government to apologize to Dr. Li
for having reprimanded him for sending warnings about the virus.

Dr. Li himself contracted the virus, and as news of his declining health spread online Thursday
evening, a hashtag calling on the Wuhan government to apologize to him spread quickly on
China’s Twitter-like Weibo service. Public anger grew further after the hashtag appeared to be
censored.

On Chinese social media Friday, commenters posted tributes to Dr. Li, circulating a quote from
an interview he had given just days before his death: “I believe a healthy society should not just
have one voice.”

People attended a vigil in Hong Kong on Friday for Dr. Li Wenliang, who is being lauded by
citizens as a hero for lagging in late December a new respiratory virus. He was silenced by
authorities, and died Friday of the coronavirus.
PHOTO: ANTHONY WALLACE AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE GETTY IMAGES

At Wuhan Central Hospital, where Dr. Li had died, bouquets of flowers were left outside a
building entrance Friday, accompanied by messages wishing him peace and thanking him for
his bravery.

The mix of anger and anguish over Dr. Li came as the death toll from the virus rose to more than
600 and the number of infected cases topped 30,000 in mainland China by the end of Thursday,
according to the National Health Commission. The 73 people who died in China on Thursday
matched Wednesday’s single-day high.

On Friday, the World Health Organization reported 31,481 confirmed global cases of the
coronavirus, up by over 3,000 cases from Thursday. A total of 638 people have died, WHO said.

Data collected on 17,000 confirmed cases showed that 82% are considered mild, 15% are severe
and 3% are critical, according to reports provided to WHO by Chinese authorities. Less than 2%
of reported patients have died, the agency said.

In Los Angeles, about three dozen people demonstrated outside the locked gates of the Chinese
Consulate General on Friday. Some carried signs bearing the image of Dr. Li.

”I don’t think it’s a natural disaster,” said James Zheng, one of the demonstrators. ”It’s a man-
made tragedy.”

Inside
THE LATEST ON CORONAVIRUS the
consul
• Seventy-three people died in China on Thursday, matching Wednesday’s single-day high and pushing the death
toll to 636. ate,
Chine
• China con irmed another 3,143 infections, bringing the total to 31,161.
se
• Beijing is aiding corporations with tax breaks and other measures, and calling on banks to o er leniency to
people a ected by the virus who owe mortgage and credit-card payments. Consu
l
Gener
al
Zhang Ping defended the government’s effort as “open, transparent and highly responsible.”

Mr. Zhang warned against xenophobia and discrimination against Chinese people, which he
said was evident in news media reports, including a man in New York attacking a woman
wearing a mask.

The Trump administration’s decision to ban entry of foreign citizens who traveled to China in
the previous 14 days doesn’t help contain the disease and instead creates panic, Mr. Zhang said.
“It caused lots of chaos for those traveling between our two countries,” he said. “We actually
have received lots of requests for assistance.”

When asked about Dr. Li’s death, Mr. Zhang said he was a devoted medical worker and his death
was “really unfortunate” and is being investigated.

In Beijing, officials on Friday acknowledged disruptions to the economy from the outbreak,
including a likely increase in soured loans. Officials said they would slash taxes, while calling on
banks to offer leniency on mortgage and credit-card payments.

Separately, Chinese President Xi Jinping told President Trump in a phone call Friday morning
Beijing time that he had confidence the country would win what he called a “people’s war”
against the deadly coronavirus, according to readouts from the White House and Chinese state
media reports.

During the conversation, the first known communication between the two leaders since the
World Health Organization last week declared the virus outbreak a global public-health
emergency, Mr. Trump expressed confidence in China’s strength and resilience in confronting
the outbreak, the White House said.

“They’re working really hard, and I think they’re doing a very professional job,” Mr. Trump said
in comments to reporters at the White House on Friday.

Earlier, Mr. Trump praised Mr. Xi on Twitter as “strong, sharp and powerfully focused on
leading the counterattack on the Coronavirus.”
“He feels they are doing very well, even building hospitals in a matter of only days. Nothing is
easy, but he will be successful,” Mr. Trump tweeted. “We are working closely with China to
help!”

—Katherine
Sayre, Xiao
Xiao, Lekai
Liu, Bingyan
Wang, Stu
Woo and
Alex Leary
contributed
to this
article.

Write to
A portrait of Li Wenliang stands outside Dr. Li’s hospital on Friday in Wuhan, China. Jonathan
PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES
Cheng at
jonathan.ch
eng@wsj.com

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