An official Chinese investigation disavowed the police of Wuhan, cradle of the Covid-19, Thursday for having reprimanded a doctor who had given the alert at the beginning of the epidemic and whose death caused the anger of the opinion.
The doctor Li Wenliang is now a national hero for alerting colleagues at the onset of the virus, when the authorities sought to stifle his revelations. The death of the 34-year-old ophthalmologist sparked popular anger in China in early February and prompted the communist government to order an investigation.
Summoned by the police in early January, the doctor had to sign a reprimand letter for spreading rumors on the internet and promised not to commit again “acts contrary to the law”. It was an approach “inappropriate” Wuhan police, a large city in central China, tried the Discipline Inspection Board. The supervisory body of officials also called for “revoke” the letter of reprimand and to “establish responsibilities” of the people involved.
Shortly after the announcement, Wuhan police recognized a “poor law enforcement” and apologized to Li Wenliang’s family on their official Weibo social media account. She announced in a brief statement disciplinary sanctions against two police officers. It is rare for Chinese authorities to admit wrongdoing.
In late January, the Supreme Court had already rehabilitated Dr. Li and other whistleblowers in an article published in the press. The first cases of new coronavirus appeared in Wuhan in early December. But residents did not start wearing protective masks until around January 20, just before the de facto quarantine of the city.
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