Some Republicans in Congress are calling to rename the street outside of the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C., after the Wuhan-based doctor who tried to warn the world about the coronavirus.
Rep. Liz Cheney introduced a bill in the House this week to rename the street “Li Wenliang Plaza” as GOP Sens. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Ben Sasse of Nebraska, Marco Rubio of Florida, and Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee introduced a bill in the Senate to support the change.
“The Chinese Communist Party wants the world to forget Dr. Li Wenliang, who tried to warn his colleagues about the Wuhan virus and later succumbed to that very disease,” Cotton said. “We can ensure his name is never forgotten by placing it permanently outside the embassy of the regime responsible for his persecution and death.”
Li, universally seen as a whistleblower who noticed several cases of the virus early on, warned a group of doctors in China in December to start wearing protective gear to avoid contracting the virus and was punished by the Chinese government for his efforts. Li was infected himself while working at the Wuhan Central Hospital and died from the illness in February at the age of 34.
Before his death, Li posted his story from a hospital bed on Chinese microblogging site Weibo after he had initially warned doctors. Chinese police accused him of “making false comments,” and he was investigated for “spreading rumors.” Local authorities later apologized to Li.
Well-wishes, anger, and grief flooded Chinese social media after the news of his death. Some comments demanded apologies from the Chinese government and the privileges of free speech to be bestowed upon the public. The government censored the criticism.
“While the Chinese Communist Party caused the virus to be spread around the globe, resulting in death and economic devastation, brave medical professionals like Dr. Li spoke truth to the regime,” Cheney said.
Similar honors were provided in 2018 to Boris Nemtsov, a Russian opposition leader, whose name was bestowed upon the road outside the Russian Embassy in D.C. Nemtsov was a critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin and has worked toward advocating for democracy and human rights in the country.
