WUHAN, China (AP) – The message was hidden in a bouquet of chrysanthemums left by a grieving man in the back of Wuhan Central Hospital in honor of a Chinese whistleblower doctor who died of the coronavirus a year ago. It was just a Bible verse number: Matthew 5:10.
“Blessed are they that are persecuted because of righteousness: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven,” says the verse.
A year ago Sunday, Dr. Li Wenliang to the virus that was first discovered in this Chinese city. A small stream of people marked the birthday with visits to the hospital on Saturday, some leaving flowers.
The 34-year-old ophthalmologist was one of eight whistleblowers who early on punished local authorities for “spreading rumors” about a SARS-like virus in a social media group. His situation, which was eventually made public in media reports, made him a powerful symbol of the dangers of going against official reports in China.
The Chinese audience embraced Li, whose presence online had portrayed an ordinary person. His wife was pregnant and he was soon to become a father. He sent the “rumor” because he wanted to warn others.
The audience also watched as he fell ill with the disease he warned them about, eventually worsened and died.
Li’s death was initially reported by Chinese state media on the night of February 6, 2020, but outlets quickly withdrew their coverage. Several hours later, in the early morning of February 7, Wuhan Central Hospital announced his death.
Chinese mourned his death, online and offline. Mourners brought flowers to the hospital, while online some people were outraged and demanded freedom of speech – messages that were quickly censored.
Li’s death appeared to pose a challenge to the central government as public anger grew.
“A healthy society shouldn’t have just one kind of voice,” Li said in an interview with Chinese business magazine Caixin last year.
The central government conducted an investigation into Li’s death and concluded that the officer who punished the doctor should be reprimanded. One police officer was sentenced, while another received an official warning, state media later reported.
At the end of the investigation, authorities published a Q&A, in which they noted, “Li was a member of the Communist Party, not some so-called ‘person who was against the system.’ It said those who labeled him that, “enemy troops.”
Since then, the epidemic has been largely controlled within China’s borders, and the story has shifted to one of triumph. China has just released a movie – “Days and Nights in Wuhan” – celebrating China’s official position that the measures it has taken, including the unprecedented lockdown it has imposed on the city, has saved the world precious time for to prepare for the pandemic.
That victorious story was further underlined by the devastation the pandemic has wreaked in many other countries. However, many have questioned China’s response to the virus and its degree of transparency during its early weeks.
Only last month, China finally let a WHO team into the country to investigate the pandemic.
For the most part, Wuhan has returned to normal, with shopping malls and streets packed, and there is little visible evidence of the suffering the city has endured. Still, some of the residents mourn silently.
Li’s death is still a sensitive topic and his family has refrained from giving media interviews. Although his Weibo profile has been left, there has been no large-scale public memorial.
The person who left the flowers and bible verse on Saturday declined to be interviewed, saying it was inconvenient.
Another couple, who put a bouquet at the front of the hospital, were told by plainclothes security to take their flowers to the back of the building, where there was a garden.
Saturday evening there was a small collection of bouquets, some with messages deep in the flowers.
“Thank you Dr. Li Wenliang,” read one.
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Associated Press photographer Ng Huan Guan contributed to this report. Wu reported from Taipei, Taiwan.