China Honors Whistle-Blowing Doctor Whose Death Fueled Anger

(Bloomberg) --

China honored a whistle-blowing doctor who became famous worldwide after calling attention to the coronavirus outbreak, as the government tries to mitigate public anger over its early muzzling of medical professionals and what some see as a slow response to the crisis.

Opthamologist Li Wenliang died on Feb. 7 after contracting the virus and was commended by China's National Health Commission Thursday along with 505 other medical personnel for his outstanding performance and dedication in the fight against the epidemic. The list said for the first time that 34 Chinese health workers have died of the virus.

The passing of 34-year-old Li, who was based in the oubreak's epicenter of Wuhan, triggered a rare wave of public anger at the ruling Communist Party after it was revealed Li had been reprimanded by local police for rumor-mongering after posting online warnings about a SARS-like illness in December.

Death of a Hero Doctor Sparks Crisis of Confidence in Xi's China

The move to honor Li is the latest in a series of moves authorities have made in a bid to calm the widespread grief and fury over his death. President Xi Jinping's government has in recent weeks ousted top officials in Hubei province, of which Wuhan is the capital, and dispatched an investigation team hours after Li passed away. No result or information about its findings have been released.

The decision stirred further skepticism among Chinese social media users, who began urgently asking for the outcome of the investigation.

“Almost one month has passed since the National Supervisory Commission sent a team to investigate the case and still they haven't figured it out,” wrote one user on Weibo, a domestic platform.

The virus first emerged in Wuhan in December and is quickly spreading around the world, including Europe, the Middle East and a number of cities in the U.S. The number of cases globally has passed 94,000.

To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Dandan Li in Beijing at dli395@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Scott at bscott66@bloomberg.net, Karen Leigh, Chris Kay

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With assistance from Bloomberg