This weekend marked the sixth anniversary of the death of Dr. Li Wenliang, the courageous young ophthalmologist who, along with seven others, was branded a “rumormonger” and punished for attempting to warn people about a mysterious “SARS-like virus” before either the Wuhan or central governments had acknowledged the emerging coronavirus pandemic. (CDT has also published annual roundups of the anniversary tributes to Dr. Li from 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025.)
Dr. Li, who succumbed to the coronavirus just over a month after he was censured, remains as censored in death as he was in life. CDT Chinese editors have archived five commemorative articles this year, of which four appear to have been deleted. Despite this, Chinese netizens continue to leave greetings and tributes under Dr. Li’s final Weibo post, which appears to remain online as a kind of safety value, and has become known as China’s “Wailing Wall.”
Among the censored articles is “Dr. Li: Six Years, Six Questions,” which raises six questions and six corollaries about Dr. Li’s punishment for trying to alert his colleagues to an emerging medical emergency, about the lingering effects of information suppression in the early days of the COVID pandemic, about why people continue to find solace and community on Dr. Li’s Wailing Wall, and more.
Another deleted piece, “In Memory of Dr. Li Wenliang, Paying Tribute to Every Brave Voice,” includes a brief bio and timeline about Dr. Li, compiled by the author from Baidu and...
Abu Dhabi -- Dr Anwar Bin Mohammed Gargash, Diplomatic Advisor to the President of the UAE, shared a statement on the "X" platform, noting that Iranian claims of targeting American military bases ...