Celebrity doctor hailed for frank speech style

Q&A

What made you become a celebrity for the time being?

This is how we work in Huashan Hospital: being frank and straightforward. We feel for others and enjoy the feeling of having no need to defend ourselves against one another.

I, in particular, stand against being hypocritical. I'm in my 50s and my work experience as a doctor provides me with abundant opportunities to see different kinds of people. But never have I been willing to get along with others in an insincere way.

I think people like to listen to me because of my job status today. But soon they'll lose interest in me and return to soap operas and star reality shows in their leisure time when life fully restarts. Who'd like to watch me talking at that time?

Would such fame have a positive or negative influence on your future work?

I don't care about the fame at all. I'm not a talkative type and my colleagues don't usually have a sense of my existence in the hospital.

I also want to emphasize that Shanghai provided me with the opportunity to "gain popularity". I didn't expect the kind of feedback I received when I first spoke to the media. What's more, none from the city government or the hospital has ever reminded me what to tell and what to avoid.

I just tell the truth about the epidemic－what happened and what will happen.