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 The death of Li Wenliang, 34, came as Chinese President Xi Jinping
assured the United States that China was doing all it could to
contain the virus that has killed almost 640 people.
The death toll in mainland China reached 636, with 73 more recorded
by Thursday and 3,143 new confirmed infections, taking the total to
31,161 cases, the National Health Commission said.
The new infections were down from Wednesday's figure of 3,694 and
3,887 on Tuesday, but experts warned it was too early to identify a
trend.
Full coverage: https://graphics.reuters.com/CHINA-HEALTH/0100B59Y39P/index.html
U.S. President Donald Trump, after speaking to Xi by phone, said
China was showing "great discipline" in tackling the virus.
"Nothing is easy, but he will be successful, especially as the
weather starts to warm & the virus hopefully becomes weaker, and
then gone," Trump said on Twitter. "...We are working closely with
China to help!"
Ophthalmologist Li was among eight people reprimanded by police in
the city of Wuhan, the epicentre of the flu-like contagion in
central Hubei province, for spreading "illegal and false"
information.
Li's social media warnings of a new "SARS-like" coronavirus - a
reference to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which killed
almost 800 people around the world in 2002-2003 after originating in
China - triggered the wrath of police.
China was accused of trying to cover up SARS.
Li was forced to sign a letter on Jan. 3, saying he had "severely
disrupted social order" and was threatened with charges.
A selfie of him lying on a hospital bed earlier this week wearing an
oxygen respirator and holding up his Chinese identification card was
being shared widely online.
"We deeply mourn the death of Wuhan doctor Li Wenliang ... After
all-effort rescue, Li passed away," the ruling Communist Party's
People's Daily said on Twitter.
Social media users called Li a hero, accusing authorities of
incompetence.
"Wuhan indeed owes Li Wenliang an apology," Hu Xijin, editor of the
government-backed Global Times tabloid, said on social media. "Wuhan
and Hubei officials also owe a solemn apology to the people of Hubei
and this country."
Li's death was a "tragic reminder" of how China's preoccupation with
maintaining stability drives it to suppress vital information,
Nicholas Bequelin, Southeast Asia regional director for Amnesty
International said in a statement.
“China must learn the lesson from Li’s case and adopt a
rights-respecting approach to combating the epidemic," he said.
GRAPHIC: Comparing new coronavirus to SARS and MERS - https://tmsnrt.rs/2GK6YVK
DATA WATCH
Some media described Li as a hero "willing to speak the truth" but
there were signs that discussion of his death was being censored.
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The topics "the Wuhan government owes doctor Li Wenliang an apology"
and "we want free speech" briefly trended on Weibo late on Thursday,
but yielded no search results on Friday.
The virus has spread around the world, with 320 cases in 27
countries and regions outside mainland China, a Reuters tally of
official statements shows.
Two deaths have been reported outside mainland China, in Hong Kong
and the Philippines, but how deadly and contagious the virus is
remains unclear, prompting countries to quarantine hundreds of
people and cut travel links with China.
There were 41 new cases among about 3,700 people quarantined in a
cruise ship moored off Japan, taking the total on board to 61.
Chinese-ruled Hong Kong quarantined for a third day a cruise ship
with 3,600 passengers and crew after three people who had been
aboard proved infected.
Singapore reported three more coronavirus cases that have not been
linked to previous infections or travel to China, prompting it to
raise its alert to orange, the same level it reached during the SARS
outbreak in 2003.
China has sealed off cities, cancelled flights and closed factories,
cutting supply lines to global businesses, so that Beijing resembles
a ghost town, with main thoroughfares and tourist spots almost
deserted.
The state planner said it was coordinating efforts to boost supplies
of staples to Hubei, which has been in virtual lockdown for two
weeks.
The majority of U.S. firms with operations in China expect the
outbreak to cut revenue this year, and some are accelerating plans
to shift their supply chains out of the country, according to a poll
by Shanghai's American Chamber of Commerce.
The ramifications are being widely felt.
China's central bank vowed further support for the world's
second-biggest economy, with the outbreak expected to knock two
percentage points, or more, off its first-quarter growth, from 6%,
analysts said.
Chinese stocks had their worst week since May, while elsewhere in
Asia, financial markets slipped after several days of gains.
Foreign investors are also counting the cost.
Toyota Motor Corp <7203.T> and Honda Motor Co <7267.T> extended
production suspensions at Chinese plants, as automakers grapple with
supply-chain disruptions.
GRAPHIC: Tracking the novel coronavirus - https://tmsnrt.rs/3aIRuz7
(Reporting by Se Young Lee and Brenda Goh; Additional reporting by
Ryan Woo in Beijing, Yilei Sun in Shanghai, Ismail Shakil in
Bengaluru and Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva; Writing by Robert Birsel
and Nick Macfie; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Giles Elgood)
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