NPR

Dear Dr. Li: Chinese Netizens Confess To The Late Coronavirus Whistleblower

Feb. 7 marks the one-year anniversary of Dr. Li Wenliang's death from the virus he'd warned about. His legacy lives on through his Weibo page, which has become a kind of confessional.
A portrait of the late Dr. Li Wenliang at his hospital in Wuhan, China. Li was a whistleblower in the early days of the country's coronavirus pandemic and died of COVID-19 on Feb. 7, 2020.

For thousands of people, the late Dr. Li Wenliang feels very much alive. They flock to his social media page on Weibo each day to write to him:

"Hey Dr. Li, I just got a second COVID shot. It hurt a little. I miss you."

"Dr. Li, I pet a cute orange cat today! I'm happy!"

"When do you think the pandemic would be over? I long for the days without a mask."

Li was a whistleblower in the

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