The cult of Li Wenliang, the doctor who spotted covid-19
Many Chinese turn to one of the pandemic’s earliest victims for comfort, and to vent
It is nearly three years since Li Wenliang posted his last message on Weibo, a Twitter-like service. “The result of the nucleic-acid test today was positive. The dust has settled, and the diagnosis has finally been confirmed,” the eye doctor wrote. A week later, on February 7th 2020, covid-19 killed him. His Weibo account, however, still hums with life.
This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline “Li Wenliang’s online afterlife ”
From the January 14th 2023 edition
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