Key Points
- Officials in China announced a nationwide loosening of hardline COVID restrictions earlier this week.
- Hundreds of Chinese internet users have since posted messages on a social media account of Dr Li Wenliang.
- Li was among doctors in Wuhan who sounded an early alarm about COVID-19 in 2019. He later died from the virus.
Hundreds of Chinese internet users have paid tribute to "martyr" doctor Li Wenliang, who first blew the whistle on the COVID-19 outbreak, in the wake of
Li was in a group of doctors in the central city of Wuhan who warned on social media of a new SARS-like disease spreading in December 2019, and was reprimanded by police for spreading "rumours".
He later died from COVID-19 in early 2020, triggering an outpouring of grief and anger on a scale and intensity rarely seen in China.
Li remains a potent symbol of frustration with the government's suppression of independent voices.
Nearly three years after his death, his profile on China's social media platform Weibo received hundreds of comments after officials on Wednesday announced a nationwide loosening of hardline COVID restrictions.
'A hero and a martyr'
"A hobbit like you is indispensable, ordinary and small but resolute and brave, unintentionally becoming a hero ... and a martyr," said one commenter.
"Those who blow the whistle are always worth remembering," wrote another. "I look forward to a more transparent society."
Some users paid tribute to Li's courage while others shared their frustration with strict COVID rules as well as their anxiety over the government's sudden shift in policy.
"I don't know if you would be disappointed" in the government's reversal, one user wrote.
"As a PCR test worker, I'm worn out by chasing after positive cases, too many samples to handle, information to put in the system that does not seem to end, the rising wave of public complaints," they added.
"Brother it's over! You were worried about the pandemic while on your deathbed," another wrote.
"Finally, the spring has come!"
Officials announce relaxation of COVID curbs
Chinese Communist Party officials on Wednesday announced sweeping changes to its COVID rules that curbed the spread of the virus but sparked protests and hobbled the world's second-largest economy.
The relaxation, which includes allowing infected people with mild symptoms to quarantine at home and dropping testing for people travelling domestically, is the clearest sign that Beijing is pivoting away from its zero-COVID policy to let people live with the virus.
But health officials are still warning that they will closely watch trends in deaths and adequacy of medical resources in case a return to tougher measures is needed.
Many of the changes announced by the National Health Commission (NHC) reflected steps already taken in various cities and regions in recent days, following protests against COVID controls that were the biggest demonstration of public discontent since President Xi Jinping came to power in 2012.
