<p>At a time when the whole world is battling the unprecedented outbreak of coronavirus, China has come under the global spotlight, for all the wrong reasons.</p>

<p>And while China is known for wiping the facts, people of the country are trying hard to keep the truth alive.</p>

<p>Ai Fen is a Chinese doctor and director of the emergency department of Central Hospital of Wuhan. She is the first medical personnel to disclose the 2019–20 coronavirus epidemic to the outside world.</p>

<p>In March, she gave an interview to a state-run magazine in which she spoke about the Chinese Communist Party trying to hide the Wuhan virus.</p>

<p>The interview is now deleted and&nbsp;the doctor is also missing since the interview.</p>

<p>Meanwhile, in a valiant effort, Chinese people on the internet have found unique ways to bypass the censors and have rallied to keep the story alive.</p>

<p>The netizens in China saved a copy of the interview and are coming up with various ways to preserve it and spread it further.</p>

<p>One of the Twitter users made a video and inserted the interview text in Mandarin into the famous opening scene of star wars.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="zh">吹哨子的人，今天至少出来一百个版了，下面转发电影版，中国人民有智慧。 <a href="https://t.co/VgCt95sxdK">pic.twitter.com/VgCt95sxdK</a></p>
— 荣剑 (@rongjian1957) <a href="https://twitter.com/rongjian1957/status/1237743031316447238?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 11, 2020</a></blockquote>
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<p>Another user produced the entire text backwards.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Not because of dyslexia. After x-rounds of deletion, Dr. Ali's story is now written backward, paragraph by paragraph. <a href="https://t.co/CPaRtqGat6">pic.twitter.com/CPaRtqGat6</a></p>
— FAN Wenxin (@xinwenfan) <a href="https://twitter.com/xinwenfan/status/1237407391479549953?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 10, 2020</a></blockquote>
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<p>While another user recreated it by using emoticons.</p>

<p>"Censors keep deleting a story went viral about Ai Fen, a Wuhan doc who took pics of patient’s test results in late Dec and alert ppl. So Chinese netizens found their own ways: sharing in reversed order, as PDF, with an intentional misspelling of characters, and in emoji," Carolyn Zhang wrote on the micro-blogging site while sharing the emoticon version of the interview.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Censors keep deletin a story went viral about Ai Fen, a Wuhan doc who took pics of patient’s test results in late Dec and alert ppl. So Chinese netizens found their own ways: sharing in reversed order, as PDF, with intentional misspelling of characters, and in emoji <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/COVID2019?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#COVID2019</a> <a href="https://t.co/5QgDQgorIq">pic.twitter.com/5QgDQgorIq</a></p>
— Carolyn Zhang (@carolynzhang13) <a href="https://twitter.com/carolynzhang13/status/1237452770971697158?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 10, 2020</a></blockquote>
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<p>One more user-created the interview in Braille and posted on social media. &nbsp;The QR code, Telegram codes version of the interview are also being circulated on the interview to escape the Chinese censors.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">The rally to repost the censored Dr. Ai Fen's story is now a visual/performance art. The Braille version -- or at least how it looks. <a href="https://t.co/VWZkzZUiGJ">pic.twitter.com/VWZkzZUiGJ</a></p>
— FAN Wenxin (@xinwenfan) <a href="https://twitter.com/xinwenfan/status/1237540842824298496?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 11, 2020</a></blockquote>
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<p>On December 30, 2019, Ai Fen received a test report of patients with unknown pneumonia. She circled the word "sars coronavirus" in red, according to the English translation of the interview published on a Chinese website.</p>

<p>When asked by a former medical school classmate, she took the report and shared it with her who is also a doctor.</p>

<p>That night, the report was circulated within the doctor circles in Wuhan, and those who forwarded the report included eight doctors who were disciplined by the police later.</p>

<p>Later, she was interviewed by the hospital disciplinary committee&nbsp;as she was the source of the report. The hospital accused Fen of spreading rumours as a profession.</p>

<p>The report shared by&nbsp;Fen became the first piece of evidence of the outbreak and the whistleblower, Doctor Li Wenlian had also shared the same report with the world.</p>

<p>Dr li later contracted the coronavirus himself and died in February this year.<br />
&nbsp;</p>


At a time when the whole world is battling the unprecedented outbreak of coronavirus, China has come under the global spotlight, for all the wrong reasons. And while China is known for wiping the facts, people of the country are trying hard to keep the truth alive.

At a time when the whole world is battling the unprecedented outbreak of coronavirus, China has come under the global spotlight, for all the wrong reasons. And while China is known for wiping the facts, people of the country are trying hard to keep the truth alive. Ai Fen is a Chinese doctor and director of the emergency department of Central Hospital of Wuhan. She is the first medical personnel to disclose the 2019–20 coronavirus epidemic to the outside world. In March, she gave an interview to a state-run magazine in which she spoke about the Chinese Communist Party trying to hide the Wuhan virus. The interview is now deleted and the doctor is also missing since the interview. Meanwhile, in a valiant effort, Chinese people on the internet have found unique ways to bypass the censors and have rallied to keep the story alive. The netizens in China saved a copy of the interview and are coming up with various ways to preserve it and spread it further. One of the Twitter users made a video and inserted the interview text in Mandarin into the famous opening scene of star wars. 吹哨子的人，今天至少出来一百个版了，下面转发电影版，中国人民有智慧。 pic.twitter.com/VgCt95sxdK — 荣剑 (@rongjian1957) March 11, 2020 × Another user produced the entire text backwards. Not because of dyslexia. After x-rounds of deletion, Dr. Ali's story is now written backward, paragraph by paragraph. pic.twitter.com/CPaRtqGat6 — FAN Wenxin (@xinwenfan) March 10, 2020 × While another user recreated it by using emoticons. "Censors keep deleting a story went viral about Ai Fen, a Wuhan doc who took pics of patient’s test results in late Dec and alert ppl. So Chinese netizens found their own ways: sharing in reversed order, as PDF, with an intentional misspelling of characters, and in emoji," Carolyn Zhang wrote on the micro-blogging site while sharing the emoticon version of the interview. Censors keep deletin a story went viral about Ai Fen, a Wuhan doc who took pics of patient’s test results in late Dec and alert ppl. So Chinese netizens found their own ways: sharing in reversed order, as PDF, with intentional misspelling of characters, and in emoji #COVID2019 pic.twitter.com/5QgDQgorIq — Carolyn Zhang (@carolynzhang13) March 10, 2020 × One more user-created the interview in Braille and posted on social media. The QR code, Telegram codes version of the interview are also being circulated on the interview to escape the Chinese censors. The rally to repost the censored Dr. Ai Fen's story is now a visual/performance art. The Braille version -- or at least how it looks. pic.twitter.com/VWZkzZUiGJ — FAN Wenxin (@xinwenfan) March 11, 2020 × On December 30, 2019, Ai Fen received a test report of patients with unknown pneumonia. She circled the word "sars coronavirus" in red, according to the English translation of the interview published on a Chinese website. When asked by a former medical school classmate, she took the report and shared it with her who is also a doctor. That night, the report was circulated within the doctor circles in Wuhan, and those who forwarded the report included eight doctors who were disciplined by the police later. Later, she was interviewed by the hospital disciplinary committee as she was the source of the report. The hospital accused Fen of spreading rumours as a profession. The report shared by Fen became the first piece of evidence of the outbreak and the whistleblower, Doctor Li Wenlian had also shared the same report with the world. Dr li later contracted the coronavirus himself and died in February this year.

Coronavirus: China deletes whistleblower's interview; people become watchdog and keep the truth alive

<p>A Chinese doctor who first broke out the news of coronavirus spread in CHina has gone missing. Doctor Ai Fen is director of the emergency department of Central Hospital of Wuhan where the first case of coronavirus had emerged. &nbsp;She is the first medical personnel to disclose the 2019–20 coronavirus epidemic to the outside world.</p>

<p>Her whereabouts are unknown since she gave an interview to a state-run magazine in which she spoke in details about how Chinese authorities tried to hold the information regarding the deadly coronavirus which has now spread to over 180 countries.</p>

<p>The interview became proof of China's cover-up as she told the world how China knew about the coronavirus, way back in December and did nothing to stop it.</p>

<p><strong>Also read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/coronavirus-china-deletes-whistleblowers-interview-people-become-watchdog-and-keep-the-truth-alive-290480">Coronavirus -&nbsp;China deletes whistleblower's interview; people become watchdog and keep the truth alive</a></strong></p>

<p>In the interview, she said she wasn't the whistleblower. She was the one who gave the whistle.</p>

<p>WION has been investigating Fen's claims. On Friday, WION accessed a copy of Ai Fen's interview in an English translation published on a Chinese site.</p>

<p>This interview is a smoking gun!</p>

<p>According to the interview, Dr Ai Fen was in her hospital, when the first coronavirus patients walked in. It was a disease, that no other doctor had seen before.</p>

<p>The patients were showing "flu-like symptoms. But, usual treatment methods were not working," she says in the interview.</p>

<p>Dr ai fen was treating some of the patients herself during she decided to carry out some tests. The result showed that it was a "SARS coronavirus".</p>

<p>The interview states, Dr Fen saying that she read the report several times to confirm and her conclusion did not change.</p>

<p>She broke out into "a cold sweat," she says adding that she "knew an unprecedented challenge was staring at her."</p>

<p>Dr Fen circled the diagnosis and took a photograph of the report and shared with a friend.<br />
&nbsp;<br />
Soon the report was circulated across Wuhan's medical circles and other doctors began talking about this new mysterious disease.</p>

<p>Dr li Wenliang was one of them. He too received this report and is now known as the first whistleblower. Dr Fen gave him the whistle, as she puts it.</p>

<p>Dr Wenliang shared the report further and soon it emerged on the radar of the Chinese censors.</p>

<p>Subsequently, Chinese authorities began the coverup of the report. Dr li was pulled up by Chinese officials for sharing the report and accused of spreading false information.</p>

<p>Later, the Chinese police tracked down Dr Fen as the source. The authorities gave her a warning and asked her to stay quiet.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Hospital's disciplinary inspection committee also called Dr Fen and reprimanded her. They accused her of spreading misinformation.&nbsp;</p>

<p>In the interview, Dr Fen also says that she knew about the human-to-human transmission of the coronavirus; but "no one listened to her."</p>

<p>Instead of acting on her report, the Wuhan Central Hospital joined the government's cover-up and forbade the staff from passing messages pr images about the virus.</p>

<p>A few months later, Dr Fen got a chance to speak again. She spoke to Chinese magazine call "People". This time she did not hold back anything and told the magazine everything she knew.</p>

<p>&nbsp;And now, nobody knows where Dr Fen is.</p>


A Chinese doctor who first broke out the news of coronavirus spread in CHina has gone missing. Doctor Ai Fen is director of the emergency department of Central Hospital of Wuhan where the first case of coronavirus had emerged.

A Chinese doctor who first broke out the news of coronavirus spread in CHina has gone missing. Doctor Ai Fen is director of the emergency department of Central Hospital of Wuhan where the first case of coronavirus had emerged. She is the first medical personnel to disclose the 2019–20 coronavirus epidemic to the outside world. Her whereabouts are unknown since she gave an interview to a state-run magazine in which she spoke in details about how Chinese authorities tried to hold the information regarding the deadly coronavirus which has now spread to over 180 countries. The interview became proof of China's cover-up as she told the world how China knew about the coronavirus, way back in December and did nothing to stop it. Also read: Coronavirus - China deletes whistleblower's interview; people become watchdog and keep the truth alive In the interview, she said she wasn't the whistleblower. She was the one who gave the whistle. WION has been investigating Fen's claims. On Friday, WION accessed a copy of Ai Fen's interview in an English translation published on a Chinese site. This interview is a smoking gun! According to the interview, Dr Ai Fen was in her hospital, when the first coronavirus patients walked in. It was a disease, that no other doctor had seen before. The patients were showing "flu-like symptoms. But, usual treatment methods were not working," she says in the interview. Dr ai fen was treating some of the patients herself during she decided to carry out some tests. The result showed that it was a "SARS coronavirus". The interview states, Dr Fen saying that she read the report several times to confirm and her conclusion did not change. She broke out into "a cold sweat," she says adding that she "knew an unprecedented challenge was staring at her." Dr Fen circled the diagnosis and took a photograph of the report and shared with a friend. Soon the report was circulated across Wuhan's medical circles and other doctors began talking about this new mysterious disease. Dr li Wenliang was one of them. He too received this report and is now known as the first whistleblower. Dr Fen gave him the whistle, as she puts it. Dr Wenliang shared the report further and soon it emerged on the radar of the Chinese censors. Subsequently, Chinese authorities began the coverup of the report. Dr li was pulled up by Chinese officials for sharing the report and accused of spreading false information. Later, the Chinese police tracked down Dr Fen as the source. The authorities gave her a warning and asked her to stay quiet. Hospital's disciplinary inspection committee also called Dr Fen and reprimanded her. They accused her of spreading misinformation. In the interview, Dr Fen also says that she knew about the human-to-human transmission of the coronavirus; but "no one listened to her." Instead of acting on her report, the Wuhan Central Hospital joined the government's cover-up and forbade the staff from passing messages pr images about the virus. A few months later, Dr Fen got a chance to speak again. She spoke to Chinese magazine call "People". This time she did not hold back anything and told the magazine everything she knew. And now, nobody knows where Dr Fen is.

First Chinese doctor to raise alarm over coronavirus missing since her now 'deleted interview'

Dr. Ai Fen revealed how Chinese officials tried to cover up the outbreak. Her tell-all interview was removed, allegedly by Chinese censors. But, Chinese netizens found unique ways to save and spread the story. WION's Palki Sharma tells you how.

Gravitas: How Chinese netizens are beating the censors | Wuhan Coronavirus

Dr. Ai Fen is a doctor at the Wuhan Central Hospital. She was perhaps among the first doctors to discover the Wuhan virus. After speaking out against the authorities, Dr. Ai Fen has gone missing. WION's Palki Sharma brings you the Ai Fen revelations.

Gravitas: The interview China tried to hide | Wuhan Coronavirus | Dr. Ai Fen

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