The death of a whistleblowing doctor whose early warnings about China's new coronavirus outbreak were suppressed by the police has unleashed a wave of anger at the government's handling of the crisis -- and bold demands for more freedom.
Ophthalmologist Li Wenliang was among eight physicians who sounded the alarm about the virus in late December, only to be reprimanded and censored by the authorities in central Hubei province.
While the World Health Organization and some experts have heaped praise on China, saying it took decisive steps to try to contain the virus, critics say precious time was lost by the early inaction of the local government. After the Wuhan Central Hospital confirmed on Weibo early Friday that Li had joined the growing number of victims, mourners left hundreds of thousands of eulogies.
Dali Yang, a political science professor at the University of Chicago, said authorities likely ordered the delay to show there was an effort to save the doctor "because there was such an outpouring of emotion and they wanted to give a sense of hope". China's anti-graft agency said Friday it was sending investigators to Wuhan to look into "issues" related to Li.
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