Li Wenliang’s death is a new crisis for China’s rulers

“IF YOU KEEP being stubborn, fail to repent and continue illegal activities, you will be brought to justice.” So read the warning that police in Wuhan issued to Li Wenliang early in January. Mr Li, an ophthalmologist at a hospital in the city, had been summoned by officers after sharing information through WeChat, a social-media platform, about a new coronavirus that few people then knew about. On the evening of February 6th Mr Li was killed by the pathogen, having been infected by a patient a few days after the police told him to shut up. His death has prompted one of the biggest outpourings of online criticism of the government in years. Officials struggling to contain the virus are also now battling to assuage public anger.

Mr Li is being hailed by Chinese netizens as a whistleblower, but all he did was post a few sentences about the virus on a private forum used by former classmates from his old medical school, most of whom are also practising doctors. On the evening of December 30th he warned them that a group of patients with links to one of Wuhan’s live-animal markets were believed to be infected with the SARS virus that killed hundreds of people during an outbreak in 2002-03, or something similar to it. He suggested that they adopt more stringent precautions against infection in their hospitals, and asked them not to share the information with others.