The Chinese government’s reflexive coverup of the coronavirus epidemic – followed by the whistleblower’s death from it Thursday – is sickening.

• A Chinese doctor in Wuhan, the coronavirus whistleblower, has died from the illness he risked his reputation to warn others about.
• The Chinese government reportedly accused Dr. Li Wenliang of spreading rumors. Officials rebuked him for severely disturbing the social order.
• Now we know he was right about the seriousness of the disease. But Chinese officials didnt even let him die without covering up that too.

The Chinese doctor who sounded the alarm about coronavirus died late Thursday evening local time. Dr. Li Wenliang contracted the severely contagious virus while working amid the epidemic at Wuhan Central Hospital.
Hiding The Coronavirus Whistleblowers Death
Source: Twitter
Physicians at Wuhan Central initially declared Li dead at 21:30 Wuhan time.
But physicians and reporters on the scene told the BBC that the Chinese government made them retract their reports:
Journalists and doctors at the scene, who do not want their names used, told the BBC and other media that government officials had intervened. Official media outlets had been told to change their reports to say the doctor was still being treated.
The Peoples Daily, Global Times, and other Chinese outlets had already shared news of Dr. Lis death, which reportedly led to an uproar of grief and anger on social media.
The hospital has confirmed Dr. Li is dead.
When Life Is Stranger Than Satire
This is an Onion story. But its actually real life.
Dr. Li Wenliang was the coronavirus whistleblower. He warned other doctors, while the Chinese government tried to cover up the epidemic. And he couldnt even die from it without the Chinese government trying to cover that up too.
The New York Times told Lis story this week, concluding:
At critical turning points, Chinese authorities put secrecy and order ahead of openly confronting the growing crisis and risking public alarm or political embarrassment.
Dr. Li warned his med school classmates in a post to an online chat group on Dec 30. Wuhan health authorities then summoned him in the middle of the night to explain why he told them about coronavirus quarantines in the hospital.
Then police forced him to sign a statement confessing his post was illegal behavior. Authorities accused him of spreading rumors and severely disturbing the social order.
Now that we know how right he was, the Chinese government still cant unclench. After the doctor they repressed and stigmatized for warning about a deadly disease died from it himself, they reverted again to decades of communist party muscle memory.
Its sickening.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of CCN.com.
This article was edited by Gerelyn Terzo.
Last modified: February 6, 2020 11:54 PM UTC