If doctors lie, particularly in the field of public health, many people will die. [...] There are far too many people who are willing to tell bald-faced lies that even they don’t believe, which makes honesty a more precious commodity than ever. We cherish Dr. Li Wenliang because he told the truth."

— From an online essay paying tribute to Dr. Li Wenliang, the Wuhan ophthalmologist and COVID whistleblower who died of COVID symptoms five years ago. Each year on the anniversary of his death, many Chinese netizens flock to the comment section under Dr. Li's last Weibo post to thank him for his service, courage, and principles.

 

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On the Fifth Anniversary of COVID Whistleblower Dr. Li Wenliang’s Death: “The World Hasn’t Gotten Any Better. If Anything, It’s Even More Insane.”

February 6 marks the fifth anniversary of the death of Dr. Li Wenliang, a young ophthalmologist at Wuhan Central Hospital whose attempts to warn colleagues and the public of an emerging coronavirus made him a heroic symbol of free speech and principled resistance. Punished and forced to sign a letter of admonishment by the police, and chastised by Chinese state media for being a “rumormonger,” Dr. Li later contracted COVID in the course of his work at the hospital and died. His heart stopped in the late evening of February 6, 2020, although the official announcement of his death was delayed...

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Assessing Actors and Narratives in China-Africa Media Interactions

Last month, CDT wrote about the ways in which Chinese training programs for African journalists shape perceptions of China, and the extent to which African journalists’ active participation therein supports foreign media narratives. Recent pieces from African, Chinese, and Western authors continue this thread by demonstrating different ways of assessing the actors behind the media narratives shaping China-Africa relations. One such piece is by Samantha Custer, Director of Policy Analysis at AidData, who wrote broadly about how China uses information and public diplomacy to “win the...

Investigation Reveals Uyghur Forced Labor in Decathlon’s Supply Chain

An investigation by French outlet Disclose, in partnership with France 2’s documentary program Cash Investigation, revealed evidence of Uyghur forced labor in the supply chain of French multinational sporting goods company Decathlon. According to the investigation, Decathlon’s second-largest textile manufacturer in China is a company called Jifa, whose subsidiary Xinjiang Xirong Clothing makes sportswear in a factory of Yengisar industrial park that received Uyghurs from a concentration camp less than one kilometer away. Jifa also received Chinese government subsidies for labor transfers of...

Minitrue Plus Five: February 11, 2020 – Novel Coronavirus Terminology, Superspreaders, Too Many Flags

In late 2020, CDT acquired and verified a collection of propaganda directives issued by central Party authorities to state media at the beginning of that year. These directives were issued on an almost daily basis in early 2020 through the early weeks of what would become the COVID-19 pandemic, and shed light on the propaganda machinery’s efforts to grapple with the outbreak. They were originally published between September and December, 2020 as the Minitrue Diary series, after the censorship and propaganda organs’ Orwellian online nickname 真理部 Zhēnlǐ bù, or "Ministry of...