Li Wenliang was declared a heroic whistleblower of the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic in mainland China .
In an interview with Renwu magazine , Ai said she was reprimanded after alerting her superiors and colleagues of the SARS-like virus in December ; Li would later be canonised on the internet as a heroic whistleblower , and Ai would be lauded as the one who provided the whistle .
2019–20 coronavirus pandemic in mainland China