Chinese netizens demand freedom of speech | NTDTV

Chinese netizens are starting an online movement demanding freedom of speech, following the death of the doctor who blew the whistle on the coronavirus and later died of the infection.

Dr Li Wenliang's death sparked an unusual outpouring of grief and anger on Chinese social media.

To mourn Li, some social media users, mostly younger people, posted selfies wearing face masks or holding up paper that says, “We can't do it, we don’t understand.”

The quote is a response to the punishment that Li got after he warned his friends
in an online chatroom that he was seeing new pneumonia-like cases. He was summoned by Wuhan police and signed a letter saying his warning was untrue. The letter listed two questions. The first question asks whether he could stop his illegal behavior, to which Li wrote, “Yes I can”. The second said, “Do you understand you will be punished if you continue this illegal behavior?” Li signed, “ I understand”.

Some netizens' photos also show them holding up the quote, “I demand freedom of speech” and “A healthy society should not just have one voice” - now a famous quote, once said by Li.

These photos were quickly deleted

on major Chinese social platforms such as Weibo. But overseas Chinese are also responding to this demand.

Last Sunday, about a hundred Chinese people gathered in Manhattan’s central park. They held activities mourning Dr. Li, in all black.

Facemasks with the quote “We can’t do it, we don’t understand” are scattered around a banner that says “whistles that wake up China”.

I demand truth!

I want freedom of speech.

Chinese users on overseas Twitter also started using the hashtag.

Reporting by Juliet Song, NTD news.
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