China doctor who warned of coronavirus mourned; Xi speaks with Trump

BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) – A Chinese doctor who warned against a coronavirus outbreak before it was officially recognized died of the virus on Friday, triggering a wave of public mourning and rare expressions of anger towards the government online.

Li Wenliang wears a respirator mask, following the coronavirus outbreak, in Wuhan, China, February 3, 2020 in this picture obtained from social media. Picture taken February 3, 2020. LI WENLIANG/GAN EN FUND via REUTERS

The death of Li Wenliang, the opthalmologist who sounded the alarm, came as Chinese President Xi Jinping assured his U.S. counterpart that China was doing all it could to contain the virus that has killed almost 640 people.

China was gradually achieving results and was confident it could defeat the epidemic with no long-term economic consequences, Xi told President Donald Trump in a telephone call, according to state television.

China’s central bank vowed further support for the world’s second-biggest economy, with the outbreak expected to knock 2 percentage points, or more, off its first-quarter growth, from 6%, analysts say.

Chinese stocks had their worst week since May, while elsewhere in Asia, financial markets slipped after several days of gains.

The death of Li, 34, sparked an outpouring of grief on social media. He was among eight people reprimanded by police in the city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the flu-like contagion in central Hubei province, for spreading “illegal and false” information about it.

Li’s social media warnings of a new “SARS-like” coronavirus – a reference to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which killed almost 800 people around the world in 2002-2003 after it originated in China – triggered the wrath of police.

China was accused of trying to cover up SARS.

Li was forced to sign a letter on Jan. 3, saying he had “severely disrupted social order”, and was threatened with charges.

“We deeply mourn the death of Wuhan doctor Li Wenliang … After all-effort rescue, Li passed away,” the ruling Communist Party’s People’s Daily said on Twitter.

Social media users called Li a hero, accusing authorities of incompetence in initially tackling the outbreak.

“Wuhan indeed owes Li Wenliang an apology,” Hu Xijin, editor of the government-backed Global Times tabloid, said on social media. “Wuhan and Hubei officials also owe a solemn apology to the people of Hubei and this country.”

A law was needed to protect people like Li, “who have the inborn sense of right and wrong in telling faithful words to the public, and reveal the truth”, said Zhan Jiang, a journalism professor at Beijing Foreign Studies University.

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DATA WATCH

Some media described Li as a hero “willing to speak the truth” but there were signs that discussion of his death was being censored.

The topics “the Wuhan government owes doctor Li Wenliang an apology” and “we want free speech” briefly trended on Weibo late on Thursday, but yielded no search results on Friday.

The death toll in mainland China reached 636, with 73 more recorded by Thursday and 3,143 new confirmed infections, taking the total to 31,161 cases, the National Health Commission said.

The 3,143 new infections were down from Wednesday’s figure of 3,694 and 3,887 on Tuesday, but experts warned it was too early to identify any trend.

The virus has spread around the world, with 320 cases in 27 countries and regions outside mainland China, a Reuters tally of official statements shows.

Two deaths have been reported outside China, in Hong Kong and the Philippines, but how deadly and contagious the virus is remains unclear, prompting countries to quarantine hundreds of people and cut travel links with China.

There were 41 new cases among about 3,700 people quarantined in a cruise ship moored off Japan, taking the total on board to 61.

Hong Kong quarantined for a third day a cruise ship with 3,600 passengers and crew after three people who had been aboard proved infected.

(GRAPHIC: Tracking the novel coronavirus – here)

GHOST TOWN

Singapore said a man confirmed as Britain’s third case had attended a business conference in the city-state, after which several cases emerged, apparently linked to a person from Wuhan who was also attended.

It reported three new cases, taking its tally to 33, and warned of the risk of widespread community transmission.

China has sealed off cities, canceled flights and closed factories, cutting supply lines to global businesses, so that Beijing resembles a ghost town, with main thoroughfares and tourist spots almost deserted.

The state planner said it was coordinating efforts to boost supplies of staples to Hubei, which has been in virtual lockdown for two weeks.

The ramifications are being widely felt.

Record low prices for liquefied natural gas were roiling the global gas market, jolting the container shipping trade and threatening months of delays as cargoes get rerouted away from China, industry sources say.

Foreign investors are also counting the cost.

Slideshow (18 Images)

Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) and Honda Motor Co (7267.T) extended production suspensions at Chinese plants, as automakers grapple with supply-chain disruptions.

Japan’s Fast Retailing (9983.T), which runs clothing chain Uniqlo, said it had temporarily closed about 370 of its 750 shops in China.

(GRAPHIC: Comparing new coronavirus to SARS and MERS – here)

Reporting by Se Young Lee and Brenda Goh; Additional reporting by Ryan Woo in Beijing and Yilei Sun in Shanghai; Writing by Stephen Coates and Robert Birsel; Editing by Clarence Fernandez

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
source: reuters.com