Li Wenliang’s death exposes the costs of China’s authoritarianism
Public anger over the virus-related tragedy will fade, but those who feel the ground shake never forget
THE DEATH of Li Wenliang has shaken China like an earthquake. He was a young doctor who was reprimanded by Chinese police for alerting colleagues to a new virus that has now killed more than 1,300 people, Dr Li among them (see article). There was nationwide soul-searching when the ophthalmologist told Chinese media, days before his death on February 6th in Wuhan, Hubei province, that silencing truth-tellers can make a country sick. “I think there should be more than one voice in a healthy society,” he said.
This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline “Death of an everyman”
From the February 15th 2020 edition
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