How Thousands of Chinese Gently Mourn a Virus Whistle-Blower

Dr. Li Wenliang tried to warn his country but was silenced. Now its traumatized people visit his spirit online.

@小兔子的大耳朵A: Dr. Li, what is heaven like?

@大大-dada: 今天我家的咪咪去世了

@大大-dada: Dr. Li, my cat died today.

@福气多多吖: 李医生，樱花开了，记得来看看

@福气多多吖: Dr. Li, the cherry blossoms are blooming.

@福气多多吖: 李医生，樱花开了，记得来看看

@福气多多吖: Dr. Li, the cherry blossoms are blooming. Remember to check it out.

@242呀: 早上好呀，李医生 请你吃个炸鸡腿🍗

@242呀: Good morning, Dr. Li. Here's a drumstick for you. 🍗

@奥杰塔Odette: 李医生，谢谢你曾尝试拯救地球

@奥杰塔Odette: Dr. Li, thank you for trying to save the world.

Dr. Li had been an avid user of Weibo, China’s rough equivalent of Twitter, since 2011. He posted his last message on Feb. 1. “Today the nucleic acid test result is positive,” he wrote of the test that confirmed he had been infected by the coronavirus. “The dust has settled, and the diagnosis is finally confirmed.” He died five days later.

Under that post, Weibo users have left more than 870,000 comments. Some people post a few times a day, telling him how their mornings, afternoons and evenings went. Only posts by China’s biggest actors and pop stars can match those numbers, but even those lack the visceral response that Dr. Li’s last post has drawn.

@非法期望: Dr. Li, I have a crush on a girl.

@至暗灯塔: 生活过得一团糟，可能不久就要离婚了

@至暗灯塔: My life is a mess. I’ll probably get divorced soon.

@隔离香菇: 我好像抑郁了一样

@隔离香菇:I think I may have depression.