Translator's Note: This document was downloaded from the New York Times website: "Dr. Li’s Apology Letter," October 5, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/10/05/world/asia/li-wenliang-letter.html, which was published alongside the article "How a Chinese Doctor Who Warned of Covid-19 Spent His Final Days," October 6, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/06/world/asia/covid-china-doctor-li-wenliang.html. According to that article: "[Li Wenliang's] employer, Wuhan Central Hospital where he worked as an eye doctor, had made him write a letter of apology, the content of which was obtained by The Times." In addition to being required to write this self-criticism, PRC police issued a formal reprimand to Dr. Li, and a translation of that reprimand can be found on p. 621 of "State Prosecutions of Speech in the People's Republic of China," https://ssrn.com/abstract=4168412. For additional background on how Dr. Li was silenced and information about the Wuhan outbreak was censored, see "COVID-19 Series: People Silenced and Punished by the Chinese Government," http://blog.feichangdao.com/2021/02/covid-19-wuhan-doctors-lawyers-academics-journalists-silenced.html.
Reflection and Self-Criticism on Spreading False Information Regarding the Current "Pneumonia of Unknown Origin in Wuhan" Incident
On 2019.12.30, I self-righteously forwarded false information regarding "7 cases of SARS confirmed in the South China Seafood Market" to a social group of university classmates under circumstances where there was inaccurate sourcing of the information. Later this was spread by screenshots of unknown classmates, causing panic among the public. This led to a negative impact on the investigation, diagnosis, and treatment by the Health Commission and related departments. I have deeply reflected on this, and recognize that, as a Party member, I lacked appropriate political sensitivity, did not have enough understanding of the current laws regarding information dissemination with the development of the Internet, lacked an understanding of diseases that were not within my area of expertise, and lacked the ability to be discerning about information. In this regard, I have reviewed the Party Constitution, Party Regulations and the spirit of a series of speeches, looked for gaps, examined myself, and made an in-depth reflection and self-criticism.
1. Lack of Appropriate Political Sensitivity. My studies of the Party Constitution and Party regulations were not systematic and comprehensive, and I cannot fully utilize the relevant theories until I put them into practice. Chapter 1, Article 3 of the Party Constitution clearly stipulates that Party members must "consciously abide by the Party's discipline, first and foremost the Party's political discipline and political rules, model compliance with the laws and regulations of the State, strictly guard the secrets of the Party and the State, implement the Party's decisions, obey the Party's rules, comply with organization and assignments, and actively fulfill Party duties." I failed to identify and verify relevant information in a timely manner, easily believed external information, and published it among classmates, failing to recognize the possibility of information leakage and its serious consequences in a timely manner. SARS is extremely sensitive. The epidemic in 2003 caused an enormous threat to the lives and health of the general public, and caused serious losses to the national economy. The State has long regulated the release of information about public health emergencies. The relevant information must be “timely and accurately released by the health administrative departments of all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government regarding any outbreak or spread of infectious diseases, and other public health emergencies in their respective administrative areas." As an individual, I had no right to release relevant information, let alone false information. I should be consistent with the Party Central Committee in my thoughts and actions.
2. Lack of Sufficient Understanding of the Regulation of Internet Communication During Sudden Events. With the popularization of computers, especially smart phones, and the rapid development of the mobile Internet, the spread of rumors about sudden events has often lead to problems such as the spread of mass panic, a decline in the government's prestige, and social disorder. The images, videos, texts, and other information disseminated through WeChat and other self-publishing platforms are voluminous and fragmented, which can easily arouse the public's curiosity and misunderstanding. This leads to a rapid rise in the attention paid to sudden events and the further spread of rumors. Within just a few hours, the relevant text and image information I sent was forwarded to other provinces, and even to media outside of China. It adversely affected the work of the government and related health and propaganda departments. This is something I didn't expect, and I feel deeply remorseful and guilty about its impact.
3. Insufficient Study of the Laws and Regulations that Should be Complied with in the Use of WeChat. The "Provisions on the Administration of Internet Group Information Services" and "Provisions on the Administration of Internet Public Account Information Services" issued by the Cyberspace Administration of China came into effect on October 8, 2017. The new regulations clearly stipulated that group network behavior and information release shall be regulated. Making or spreading rumors can easily cause social panic and affect normal life and work order. The Internet is not a place outside the law. Article 25 of the "Public Security Administrative Punishments Law of the People's Republic of China" stipulates that anyone "intentionally disturbing public order by spreading rumors, making false reports of dangerous situations and epidemic situations or raising false alarms or by other means" may be detained or fined. I deeply realize that the WeChat platform has a large user base and wide reach. Once illegal and harmful information is spread, its impact will be even worse. In the future I will definitely not publish suspected illegal information, will strictly abide by relevant laws and regulations, and will not "cross the line."
In my future work and study, I will certainly continue to constantly reflect and self-criticize, humbly learn from the department leaders and other Party members and comrades, strengthen my ideals and beliefs, not believe in or spread rumors, and always require of myself that I strengthen my study of political theory according to the Party Constitution, Party rules, and the spirit of series of speeches. I will strengthen my study of political theory, tighten up my "political sensitivity," regulate my own behavior, and conduct myself as a qualified Party member.
关于当前”武汉不明原因肺炎”事件中不实消息外传的反思与自我批评
我在消息来源不确切的情况下，自以为是的转发了关于“华南海鲜市场确诊了7例SARS”的不实消息到大学同学交流群，后被不明同学截图外传，造成了公众的恐慌，对卫健委及相关部门的调查、诊治工作起到了负面作用。对此我深刻反思，认识到作为一名党员我缺乏应有的政治敏說性，对互联网发达的当下信息的传播规律没有足够认识，对非自己专业的疾病认识不足，缺乏辨别信息能力等。对此，我对照觉章、党规及系列讲话精神，找差距，检视自身，做深刻反思与自我批评。
1. 缺乏应有的政治敏锐性。对党章、觉规学习不够系统全面，不能充分利用相关理论直到实践。
觉章第一章，第三条明确规定觉员必须“自觉遵守党的纪律，首先是觉的政治纪律和政治规矩，模范遵守国家的法律法规，严格保守党和国家的秘密，执行党的决定，服从组织分配，积极完成党的任务。”对相关信息未能及时辦别、核实，对外来信息轻易信以为真，并发布在同学群中，未能及时认识到信息外泄的可能及其带来的严重后果，SARS极其敏感，2003年的流行对广大人民群众生命健康造成了巨大威胁，对国家经济造成严重损失。国家对突发公共卫生事件的信息发布早有规定，对于相关信息必须由“各省、自治区、直辖市卫生行政部门对在本行政区域内发生传染病暴发、流行以及发生其他突发公共卫生事件及时、准确地发布。”作为个人，我无权发布相关信息，更不能发布不实信息。我应当在思想和行动上与党中央保持一致。
2.对突发事件互联网传播规律缺乏足够认识。随着计算机、特别是智能手机的普及，移动互联网发展日新月异，突发事件的谣言传播往往会引发群体性恐慌蔓延、政府威信降低、社会秩序混乱等问题。微信等自媒体传播的图片、视频、文字等信息量大，信息碎片化，极易引发民众的好奇心及误解。导致突发事件的关注度迅速上升，使谣言进一步扩散。短短几个小时内，我发送的相关文字及图片信息已传到外省甚至境外媒体都有转发。为政府及相关卫生、宣传部门工作造成了不利影响。这都是我所始料未及的，对造成的影响深深自责、内疚。
3. 对微信使用中应遵守的法律法规学习不足。2017.10.8日起，国家互联网信息办公室印发的 《互联网群组信息服务管理规定》和《互联网用
户公众账号信息服务管理规定》开始施行。新规明确规定应规范群组网络行为和信息发布。造谣或传谣极易引发社会恐慌，影响正常生活和工作秩序。互联网不适法外之地。《中华人民共和国治安管理处罚法》 第二十五条规定“对散步谣言，谎报险情、疫情、警情或者其他方法故意扰乱公共秩序的”可处以拘留或罚款。我深刻认识到微信平台用户基数大、传播面广，违法有害信息一旦传播影响更为恶劣，我以后一定坚决不发布涉嫌违法信息，严格遵守相关法律规定，不”越线”。
在今后的工作和学习中，我一定不断进行反思和自我批评，虚心向科室领导及其他党员同志学习，坚定理想信念，不信谣、不传谣，时时对照觉章、党规及系列讲话精神要求自己，加强政治理论学习，紧细”政治敏感性”这根弦，规范自身行为，做一名合格党员。
