The following censorship instructions, issued to the media by government authorities, have been leaked and distributed online. The name of the issuing body has been omitted to protect the source.
Regarding the death of Doctor Li Wenliang of Wuhan Central Hospital, rigidly adhere to standard sources. It is strictly forbidden for reports to use contributions from self-media, and sites may not use pop-up alerts, comment, or sensationalize. Safely control the temperature of interactive sections, do not set up special topic sections, gradually withdraw the topic from Hot Search lists, and strictly manage harmful information. (February 6, 2020) [Chinese]
Li Wenliang was one of eight people punished by Wuhan authorities in early January for spreading rumors about the then-nascent coronavirus outbreak. News of his death from the virus on Thursday triggered a huge public response, and was followed by reports that he was still undergoing treatment. His death has now been confirmed.
We deeply mourn the death of #Wuhan doctor Li wenliang, who unfortunately got infected with novel #Coronavirus while battling with the epidemic. After all-effort rescue, Li passed away on 2:58 am, Feb. 7. pic.twitter.com/mbYA3wB4pn
— People's Daily, China (@PDChina) February 6, 2020
Local officials initially trumpeted these cases as a deterrent to others, but the later revelation that all eight were medical personnel who had been attempting to sound the alarm fueled public anger over the initial response to the disease. By then, Li himself had been infected by a patient he was treating for glaucoma, and was being treated in an isolation ward, but was still able to conduct several media interviews by phone and text message. One, with the Beijing Youth Daily, was targeted for deletion by a directive published by CDT last Thursday. In another interview, with Caixin, Li expressed relief at criticism of his earlier punishment from top central judicial authorities, commenting that “I think there should be more than one voice in a healthy society, and I don’t approve of using public power for excessive interference.” He told The New York Times by text that “if the officials had disclosed information about the epidemic earlier, I think it would have been a lot better. There should be more openness and transparency.”
Earlier anger of the treatment of Li and the others exploded on Thursday, after two acquaintances reported his death, with one adding that “the Wuhan government owes Dr. Li Wenliang an apology.” The BBC reported on the news’ spread through official media, and their subsequent reversal:
Dr Li was declared dead at 21:30 local time (13:30 GMT) on Thursday, and the news was reported by Chinese state media outlets, triggering a huge wave of popular reaction on Weibo, China’s equivalent of Twitter.
Journalists and doctors at the scene, who do not want their names used, told the BBC and other media that government officials then intervened.
Official media outlets were told to change their reports to say the doctor was still being treated.
Reports said the doctor was given a treatment known as ECMO (extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation) which keeps a person’s heart pumping and keeps their blood oxygenated without it going through their lungs. [Source]
Numerous observers remarked on the breadth and intensity of the public response to reports of Li’s death. (Examples of these reactions are being compiled at CDT Chinese, and selections will be translated as soon as possible.)
Last time I saw my WeChat timeline in this intensity of collective mourning, was when Liu Xiaobo passed away.
— Fu Beimeng? (@BeimengFu) February 6, 2020
This sketch of li wenliang one of the many things about him that are blowing up online. His death is crystallizing so much anger and frustration pic.twitter.com/lxlOwj7OhO
— Bill Bishop (@niubi) February 6, 2020
Example of the latter: screenshots of state TV announcing punishment of 8 doctors for spreading rumours about Wuhan's then-mysterious virus. Captioned with Mencius: "The shame of being shameless. That is shameless indeed." The screenshots may be doctored. The anger is genuine. pic.twitter.com/sKKXUJUTwi
— Simon Rabinovitch (@S_Rabinovitch) February 6, 2020
Seems like the entire Chinese Internet is waiting on the very slim chance that Dr Li Wenliang, one of the first coronavirus whistleblowers, may be saved by ECMO treatment after his heart stopped beating earlier this evening.
“Tonight we don’t need sleep, but Li must wake up!” pic.twitter.com/N6TlT86gKp
— Laurie Chen (@lauriechenwords) February 6, 2020
The outpouring on China social media for Dr Li Wenliang is incredible. We’ve not seen the whole country rally behind someone in this way for a long time. https://t.co/wOGETkCSHf
— Liza Lin (@Liz_in_Shanghai) February 6, 2020
Here’s a timeline of the topic “Dr. Li Wenliang passed away” slipping from top place to 7th on weibo’s trending topic list. (notice the number of mentions magically goes down) now this topic is completely gone, replaced by “Dr. Li undergoing emergency treatment”. pic.twitter.com/JbbdBTjSMv
— Cecilia Wang (@ceciliaxywang) February 6, 2020
Dr. Li Wenliang passed away tonight from the same coronavirus he tried to warn others about, and now state media are calling him a "whistleblower".
A month ago, they said he was "spreading rumors". https://t.co/SjdTFbdCSs
— Dake Kang 姜大翼 (@dakekang) February 6, 2020
This Weibo post by Li Wenliang from 2012 is now flooded with tributes
"Dear friends, from today, you may not be able to reach me anymore, because I'm going to save the Earth. If the sun still rises tomorrow, it means I made it. You don't need to thank me, it‘s what I should do!" pic.twitter.com/4C527HjBRs
— Nectar Gan (@Nectar_Gan) February 6, 2020
The two trending topics censored by Weibo tonight:
# Wuhan government owes Dr. Li Wenliang an apology #
# We want freedom of speech #
Both had tens of thousands of views before disappearing into this dark night. pic.twitter.com/LHEMsbn02I
— Nectar Gan (@Nectar_Gan) February 6, 2020
I’ve never felt so angry in my entire life with the passing away of Dr #liwenliang but I know the next morning Weibo wil be cleansed. For the regime it will be business as usual. It never learns from its mistakes. pic.twitter.com/QGnBEgQy03
— Xibai Xu (@xuxibai) February 6, 2020
It's official, announcement by Wuhan Central Hospital. People are calling for Li Wenliang Act for ensuring freedom of expression. pic.twitter.com/kSwuy0g8Py
— Fu Beimeng? (@BeimengFu) February 6, 2020
As a journalist, I refuse to quote the “official time of death” of Dr. Li Wenliang, which is Feb 7 early morning. It is important for us to determine when he actually passed away (Feb 6 or 7) so his death date isn’t assigned by the authorities. He deserves that at the very least.
— Muyi Xiao (@muyixiao) February 6, 2020
“Political resuscitation” and “performance resuscitation”: Li Wenliang’s death is already tragic. The artificial delay of announcing his actual death is infuriating. I’ve never seen so much anger on Weibo and Wechat demanding accountability and apologies. Li deserves some peace. pic.twitter.com/XHCcF8mNG9
— Xinyan Yu (@xinyanyu) February 6, 2020
Top Weibo comments under hospital announcement of Li Wenliang's "official death" after hours of "rescue":
– I've learned two words: political rescue & performative rescue
– I knew you would post this in the middle of the night
– You think we've all gone to sleep? No. We haven't. pic.twitter.com/W3FvbZ7wvN— Nectar Gan (@Nectar_Gan) February 6, 2020
In another example of censorship around the case, Weibo has begun blocking posts quoting a transcript of Li’s encounter with Wuhan authorities, in which he was threatened with further punishment if he persisted: “Do you understand?” “I understand.”
Since directives are sometimes communicated orally to journalists and editors, who then leak them online, the wording published here may not be exact. Some instructions are issued by local authorities or to specific sectors, and may not apply universally across China. The date given may indicate when the directive was leaked, rather than when it was issued. CDT does its utmost to verify dates and wording, but also takes precautions to protect the source. See CDT’s collection of Directives from the Ministry of Truth since 2011.
