London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

Death of coronavirus doctor Li Wenliang becomes catalyst for ‘freedom of speech’ demands in China

Beijing’s top anti-corruption agency is sending investigators to Wuhan, signalling how seriously it is taking public anger over the handling of the outbreak
If the public can’t express their views, the crisis of confidence will only recur, analyst says

The death of a doctor in China is threatening to turn into a public confidence crisis for Beijing, just as it faces unprecedented challenges from the coronavirus outbreak.

Doctor Li Wenliang died on Friday in the central Chinese city of Wuhan after being infected with the virus, sparking a huge outpouring of grief and anger online in China. For many, his death symbolised government inaction in dealing with the outbreak, when he was one of the first to warn of the new disease. For that he was reprimanded by the police.

Beijing’s unusual decision the same day to send a team from the country’s top anti-corruption agency to Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak, to look into “issues of public concern relating to Li Wenliang” shows how seriously the government is taking the venting of public anger.

“It is a very big crisis. China’s public opinion was divided, but this time a consensus has been formed. The public share the same attitude and harbour the sentiments of sympathy, suppression and grieving anger,” Wuhan University law professor Qin Qianhong said.

“I am worried that the situation could explode, or become like when [former Communist Party general secretary] Hu Yaobang died or even more serious.”



Hu’s death on April 15, 1989, triggered mass protests that later morphed into the Tiananmen student movement.

Analysts said the government now faced a dilemma: to punish officials to appease the public anger, but not to discourage those who are fighting the epidemic. They also questioned if the government would heed the public’s calls for more room for free speech.

After initial confusion about Li’s condition, in which state media reports of his death were contradicted by a claim by Wuhan Central Hospital that he was merely in critical condition, the hospital said he had died early on Friday morning. This unleashed a torrent of comments on China’s Twitter-like platform Weibo.

By 6am, hashtags “Dr Li Wenliang has passed away” had 670 million views, “Li Wenliang has passed away” had 230 million views, and “I want freedom of speech” had 2.86 million views on Weibo. They were, however, quickly removed by the authorities.

Li, a 34-year-old ophthalmologist, was one of the eight whistle-blowers disciplined by the police in early January for “rumour mongering” after he posted a message on a closed online WeChat group about a number of “Sars-like” cases at his hospital. He became infected himself from treating patients and his death has made him into an icon.

Many online users challenged the government’s definition of “rumours” and called for internet censorship to be relaxed.



On Friday afternoon, the National Supervisory Commission, the country’s top anti-graft agency, announced that it was sending a team to Wuhan to conduct a “comprehensive investigation”.

State broadcaster CCTV read out a brief statement about the inquiry. State media, government departments and officials including Chinese ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai paid tribute to Li.

Gu Su, a political scientist with Nanjing University, said it was unusual for such a high-level agency to send an investigation team so quickly over the death of a doctor.

Qin agreed. “They understand the crisis caused by the public opinions and criticisms. In order to resolve the crisis, they would have to deliver something to the public … some officials will be punished, but they also have to strike a balance in order not to hurt the morale of officials fighting the outbreak.”

The easy part would be looking into whether the police violated discipline by punishing someone for revealing information about a public health crisis, Gu said.

But the bigger question was who commissioned the police to punish Li, he said, particularly as the “rumour mongering” case was aired on CCTV, signalling central government endorsement.

“So the question is, are these rumours?” Gu said, adding that the best outcome would be to clarify the definition of “rumours”.
“It also involves what is freedom of speech because these are rights the laws should protect because it could affect people’s lives and their survival.”



Qin said that if the public could not express their views, the same crisis would only recur and public confidence in the government would be difficult to restore.

“The government has lost credibility now, and if [the public] don’t trust you any more, how can the government achieve its [national] goals in 2020?”

He said Wuhan officials were also caught between trying to contain the outbreak while facing criticism from the public and the central government.

Steve Tsang, director of the SOAS China Institute in London, said the party would not relax control of speech.

“The news of his [Li’s] death will be very carefully managed and downplayed as much as possible. [Chinese President Xi Jinping] would not allow it to be used like the death of Hu Yaobang was in 1989.”

“[Xi] will double down and see the need to tighten control even further. The last thing he will allow is for him to appear weak.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
MSNBC Rebrands as MS NOW Amid Comcast’s Cable Spin-Off
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
Finnish MP Dies by Suicide in Parliament Building
Outrage in the Tennis World After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Storm
William and Kate Are Moving House – and the New Neighbors Were Evicted
Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen: Steering Wheel Switches Cause Accidents
Taylor Swift on the Way to the Super Bowl? All the Clues Stirring Up Fans
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Apple Expands Social Media Presence in China With RedNote Account Ahead of iPhone 17 Launch
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Cambridge Dictionary Adds 'Skibidi,' 'Delulu,' and 'Tradwife' Amid Surge of Online Slang
Bill Barr Testifies No Evidence Implicated Trump in Epstein Case; DOJ Set to Release Records
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
The CEO Who Replaced 80% of Employees for the AI Revolution: "I Would Do It Again"
Emails Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Character.ai Bets on Future of AI Companionship
China Ramps Up Tax Crackdown on Overseas Investments
Japanese Office Furniture Maker Expands into Bomb Shelter Market
Intel Shares Surge on Possible U.S. Government Investment
Hurricane Erin Threatens U.S. East Coast with Dangerous Surf
EU Blocks Trade Statement Over Digital Rule Dispute
EU Sends Record Aid as Spain Battles Wildfires
JPMorgan Plans New Canary Wharf Tower
Zelenskyy and his allies say they will press Trump on security guarantees
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Escalating Clashes in Serbia as Anti-Government Protests Spread Nationwide
The Drought in Britain and the Strange Request from the Government to Delete Old Emails
Category 5 Hurricane in the Caribbean: 'Catastrophic Storm' with Winds of 255 km/h
"No, Thanks": The Mathematical Genius Who Turned Down 1.5 Billion Dollars from Zuckerberg
The surprising hero, the ugly incident, and the criticism despite victory: "Liverpool’s defense exposed in full"
Digital Humans Move Beyond Sci-Fi: From Virtual DJs to AI Customer Agents
YouTube will start using AI to guess your age. If it’s wrong, you’ll have to prove it
Jellyfish Swarm Triggers Shutdown at Gravelines Nuclear Power Station in Northern France
×