The Li Wenliang Memorial Incident: The Fire of the Palace of Aofang and the Whistleblower of Blockchain

The novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) epidemic is raging. Dr. Li Wenliang, who was one of the first to publicly disclose the epidemic, tragically passed away yesterday (6) due to being infected in the Wuhan epidemic. Today (7), a smart contract named Monument appeared on the Ethereum blockchain.

The novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) epidemic is raging, and the first doctor to publicly warn about the outbreak, Dr. Li Wenliang, tragically passed away yesterday (6) due to being infected during the Wuhan epidemic. Today (7), a smart contract named Monument appeared on the Ethereum blockchain.

"Mourn for the past and learn for the future"

Even before the official announcement of the epidemic by the Chinese authorities, Dr. Li had issued a warning about the outbreak on December 30, 2019. However, he was silenced by the government under the pretext of "spreading rumors," had his speech restricted, was forced to sign a reprimand letter, and was warned of potential sanctions. Dr. Li was one of the eight "violators" summoned at the time, including being referred to as one of the "Wuhan Eight Gentlemen," considered the earliest "whistleblowers." Dr. Li, who was at the forefront, passed away early due to illness, and had mentioned in an interview being threatened, sparking public outrage over "lack of freedom of speech" and "contributing to the spread of the epidemic." The immutable nature of blockchain technology is often used in China as a channel to "maintain freedom of speech" and "record sensitive events," and it has once again played a role in this incident.

On the 7th, Dr. Li's story was recorded on the Ethereum blockchain through a smart contract code, and the content outlined the silhouette of a monument using code, with the word "RIP." The content is as follows:

The last paragraph of the text quotes a passage from the Tang Dynasty poet Du Mu's "Fu on the Palace of the King of Qin": "The people of Qin could not mourn themselves, but later generations mourned them. Later generations mourned them without reflecting on their mistakes, thus causing later generations to mourn again!". The original text uses the fall of the six states and the Qin Dynasty as a metaphor to remind people not only to mourn the past but also to remember the mistakes and not repeat them.

This smart contract, leveraging the immutable nature of blockchain technology, is like digitizing the peace memorial at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, allowing "later generations to mourn and learn" and not forget Dr. Li's painful experience.

Although it cannot be confirmed what additional meaning the author intended by quoting the last paragraph of Du Mu's "Fu on the Palace of the King of Qin" in the monument. However, through "Fu on the Palace of the King of Qin," Du Mu may have wanted to tell the Tang Dynasty court at the time: "The downfall of the six states and the Qin Dynasty was because they could not love the people. No matter how much glory and wealth, they will all turn into ashes like the Palace of the King of Qin."

R3's Whistleblower Project on Blockchain

The definition of a "whistleblower" is someone who exposes illegal activities within an organization, drawing public attention to the wrongdoings of governments or businesses. Dr. Li Wenliang being called a "whistleblower" is somewhat ironic, as he was simply fulfilling his duty to report the epidemic.

However, when it comes to the protection of "whistleblowers," the blockchain consortium R3, involving many financial and banking industry participants, has a blockchain platform called Corda with a product named NixWhistle, specifically designed to protect whistleblowers within enterprises.

According to reports, this blockchain whistleblower application allows anonymous reporting of any misconduct, without fear of retaliation. After the whistleblower submits the report in the system, they receive a unique key (Hint ID). With this ID, the whistleblower remains anonymous and can track the investigation results. All investigation processes and content are recorded on the blockchain, ensuring immutability. Whistleblowers can also engage in online chats with investigators anonymously, and paper evidence can be safeguarded from tampering through the blockchain.

The project indicates that this application aims to encourage employees to speak up on any issue, whether right or wrong.

Returning to Dr. Li's case, reporting the epidemic cannot be considered "whistleblowing"; it simply requires maintaining freedom of speech and verifying and solving the problems. Hopefully, such a tragedy will not happen again.

Further Reading

• As the epidemic escalates, Chinese encrypted WeChat groups turn into "mask smuggling groups"
• Enhancing medical efficiency, UAE introduces blockchain healthcare data storage platform

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