China takes exception to US labelling COVID-19 whistle-blower doctor as rebel

A senior Chinese official on Wednesday took exception to the US labelling a COVID-19 whistle-blower doctor in Wuhan as a "rebel", saying it amounted to "utter disrespect" for the deceased ophthalmologist and his family.

Dr Li Wenliang, 34, contracted the deadly virus while working at the Wuhan Central Hospital in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.

Li had sent out a warning to fellow medics on December 30 but Chinese police told him to stop "making false comments".

Li, who became a national hero after the coronavirus engulfed Wuhan, sadly died of the COVID-19 after he was infected by it.

On Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying criticised US Deputy National Security Adviser Matt Pottinger for highlighting Li's actions to criticise China.

I want to take this opportunity to say there is a wrong inclination in the US that some people think Dr. Li as a figure confronting the (Chinese) system.

She said Dr Li posted messages on social media about the coronavirus three days after China's top virus expert Zhong Nanshan notified the cases.

Dr Li was a good person. Some people in the US hastily labelled him as a rebel. This is a disrespect to him, she said.

"Some reports unfairly reported..that he didn't enjoy freedom in China. But that is not true. We hope the US can stop such political manipulation because this is utter disrespect for Dr. Li and his family," Hua said.

Pottinger said Dr Li's small act of bravery, in late December, was to pass along a warning via WeChat to his former medical school classmates that patients afflicted by a dangerous new virus were turning up in Wuhan hospitals."