China: Martyr City Wuhan Remembers Coronavirus Deaths

Wuhan residents gathered to honor the victims of Covid-19 on April 4, 2020. REUTERS / Aly Song

Text by: RFI Follow

As the epidemic is about to be brought under control in China, it was the traditional celebration of the dead this weekend. The authorities took the opportunity to organize a national tribute to the victims of Covid-19. Report in Wuhan, where the virus started in December 2019.

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With our special correspondent in Wuhan, Simon Leplâtre

The alarm sounded three minutes. Three long minutes to remember the deaths of the Covid-19 throughout China, 3,300 victims officially, but probably many more.

In front of the Wuhan central hospital, around fifteen bouquets of orchids were placed. Some are accompanied by a card, thanking the sacrifices of the doctors and celebrating the memory of Li Wenliang , the 34-year-old doctor, who had tried to raise the alarm at the end of December, before being arrested by the police. He died in early February of Covid-19, provoking a surge of emotion and anger against the authorities.

" I didn't want them to leave without anyone to pay tribute to them "

Zhang Xiao Ai, 33, came to meditate outside the hospital. “ Wuhan Central Hospital is the one that saw the most sacrificed medical personnel, it was also where Li Wenliang worked; that's why I came on purpose to see, he explains. Today, many Wuhan residents still cannot leave their homes. So I didn't want them to leave without anyone to pay tribute to them. "

But this day of remembrance is tightly controlled by the Chinese authorities: near the cemeteries, where only the relatives of the victims are allowed to go at this time, journalists are chased. In the evening, when we return to the central hospital, the bouquets have already disappeared.

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  • China
  • Coronavirus
  • Health and Medicine

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