(Minghui.org) “It's terrible! It's bad enough to face such a disaster, but they [the Chinese Communist Party] still restrict people, cover up the number of coronavirus infections, and forbid people to tell the truth. All this has caused the current terrible situation. It's really heartbreaking!”
Ms. Yu (alias) poured out her anger and grievance to her Chinese colleague as soon as she arrived at work. She is a Chinese American who has lived in the U.S. for over 20 years.
Ms. Yu had just read an article about a coronavirus whistleblower that morning. It was published in the Chinese online periodical People. Her friends in China recommended the article to her and told her to read it quickly before it was deleted from the Internet. Indeed, the article was removed soon afterward.
The Whistleblowers
The article was about an interview with Ai Fen, director of the emergency department of Wuhan Central Hospital and a colleague of Li Wenliang, an ophthalmologist at the hospital. On December 30, 2019, Ai took a photo of a virus test report of a patient with unexplained pneumonia, drew a red circle around the words “SARS coronavirus,” and sent it as a message to her former classmates and doctors, hoping that they would take preventative measures.
The report was widely circulated among doctors, and eight of them, including Li Wenliang, also forwarded copies to others. The eight doctors were soon summoned and severely reprimanded by the police. They were forced to admit in writing that they had “acted illegally” by “posting false information on the internet” that “severely disrupted social order.” They agreed to cooperate with the police and to “obey the advice from the police and stop any illegal conduct.”
The “Exhortation” also warned the doctors that they would be “punished by law” if they “stubbornly hold to the opinions and remain impenitent, and continue with illegal activities.”
Ai Fen was also summoned for a talk by the hospital disciplinary committee on January 2 for sending the photo of the report with the phrase “SARS coronavirus” circled as a warning to her colleagues. She said she received “unprecedented and severe reprimands,” accusing her of making up rumors as a professional. That hit her very hard, and she felt she was on the verge of collapse both physically and mentally. Later, she had to keep silent when people asked her any questions.
Ai Fen said, “Many times, I thought, if they did not reprimand me the way they did, but calmly investigated the issue and asked other respiratory experts to share their opinions, the situation could have been much better. I could have at least consulted with my colleagues internally at the hospital. If everyone had been alerted about this situation from the beginning, at least from January 1, there would not have been so many tragedies.”
Epidemic Covered Up
Indeed, if the CCP had not concealed the truth of the coronavirus outbreak, many people would have avoided tragedies.
Robert O'Brien, U.S. National Security Adviser, accused China of not initially handling the coronavirus outbreak properly. “Unfortunately, rather than using best practices, this outbreak in Wuhan was covered up,” he said.
He also commented that if China had been cooperative at the beginning of the outbreak, the World Health Organization and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) could have had teams on the ground in China earlier to analyze the virus’s sequence. “We could have dramatically curtailed what happened both in China and what’s now happening across the world.”
The fact is, like the “three years of natural disasters,” the “Cultural Revolution,” the “June 4th Tiananmen Massacre,” and the persecution of Falun Gong, the CCP has never stopped pulling the Chinese people into catastrophic tragedy. This time with the coronavirus, it’s people around the world.
“I Feel the Same Way”
Because of the Wuhan coronavirus, countless families were ruined with members either dead or separated.
A couple, friends of Ms. Yu's relatives in China, died of coronavirus infection within ten days. Ms. Yu is anxious now that the coronavirus has spread widely outside of China. She worries about her own health and the safety of her family.
She said the CCP has no concern for human lives and covered up the coronavirus outbreak to keep itself in power; it is pushing people toward the verge of death with fake news to create a false appearance that everything is going well.
Ms. Yu said to her Chinese colleague, who is a Falun Gong practitioner, “I know the CCP's propaganda is false, having been through the ‘Tiananmen Massacre,' but I didn't pay much attention to such things all these years because I felt I couldn't change anything and didn't want to make myself too tired. I was largely an onlooker when I saw you Falun Gong practitioners clarifying the truth about the persecution. This time (with the Wuhan coronavirus), everyone is in it, and I can really understand why you have been trying so hard. I now feel the same way.”
Someone Has to Step Forward and Tell the Truth, Everyone Can Make an Effort
Just as Ms. Ai Fen said in the interview, “This incident clearly shows that we need to hold our independent thoughts and opinions, because someone's got to step forward and tell the truth. This world needs to hear different voices, right?” “If I had known things would turn out like this today, I would have spread the truth everywhere, whether they criticized me or not, right?”
Ms. Yu is not the only one who has reflected upon themselves and awakened to a new understanding. She said many of her friends in China are middle-aged people with successful careers. “They are more clearheaded than me and more courageous in voicing their opinions!”
