[citation needed] He would later leave CCTV and become an independent journalist, documenting the early days of the coronavirus pandemic in Wuhan.

During the COVID-19 pandemic in China, he resigned from CCTV and found a way to get into Wuhan, hoping to trace disappeared journalist Chen Qiushi.

At the end of his April 22 post, he quoted the Book of Documents aphorism "the mind of man is restless, prone (to err); its affinity to what is right is small.

In order to make the will of the people consistent with the heart of Tao and reach the state of Unity of people and cosmos, only the way is concentrate all energy on cultivation of the good nature of the heart, do not act in extreme, do not change faith, do not be fickle, uphold the doctrine of the golden mean of Confucian orthodoxy.

[18] In March 2023, Li was interviewed and stated that he had graduated from the University of Rochester and is working at an artificial intelligence lab.