| On Jan. 3, police in Wuhan, China, summoned a local physician to deliver an official "admonition." Li Wenliang, a 34-year-old ophthalmologist, had alerted his colleagues in a private WeChat group to a SARS-like virus being passed from human to human in the city of 11 million. His post had leaked to the wider internet, and he stood accused of "rumor-mongering," a potentially career-threatening charge. Li is now dead, struck down by the coronavirus he sought to warn about. His mother and father are hospitalized with fever. Tens of thousands of Wuhan residents have been sickened and, since the city sits at the central crossroads of China—a hub of rail, road and river transport—the virus has spread all over the country and to the rest of the world.  A photo of the late ophthalmologist Li Wenliang is seen with flower bouquets at the Houhu Branch of Wuhan Central Hospital in China's central Hubei province on Feb. 7. Photographer: STR/AFP This week in the New Economy Censorship in China isn't just a Chinese problem: it's a global one. When Chinese authorities aren't transparent with their own citizens, they deny information to the rest of us—in Li's case, to vital scientific facts that might have spared the planet from the worst effects of the epidemic. The world is discovering the perils of a China-sized information blind spot. The Great Firewall blocks news from traveling in both directions—in and out. In today's globalized economy, a Chinese policy that maintains open borders to goods and people, but closes them to data, represents a massive risk. Early in this epidemic, even the World Health Organization seemed confused by what was going on. In the aftermath of Li's death, many Chinese have expressed outrage at officials who prioritize social order, or "stability maintenance" in the Communist Party lexicon, over the public's right to know. It has reached the point where local cops feel empowered to scold a medical expert like a child, not for harboring dissident thoughts, or trying to organize a political protest, but for raising the red flag about a public health crisis. They presented Li with a written statement that read, in part: "We hope that you can calm down and earnestly reflect, and solemnly warn you: If you are stubborn, refuse to repent, and continue to carry out illegal activities, you will be punished by the law!" Do you understand?" He signed the document.  Medical staff at a makeshift hospital converted from an exhibition center in Wuhan on Feb. 5. Photographer: Xiong Qi/Xinhua via Getty Images Certainly, Chinese authorities have been far more transparent this time than during the SARS outbreak 18 years ago. And in the official narrative, Li is now a hero, although the story presented by state media focuses on his courage at the front lines of the battle against the coronavirus, not the admonition. China's Supreme People's Court has now rebuked the Wuhan police for trying to silence Li and seven other whistleblower medics. Meanwhile, President Xi Jinping is leading what he calls a "people's war" against the virus that features regular releases of casualty data. Xi's hold on power may be threatened by the incalculable costs of censorship in the early stages of this epidemic. But it's equally possible that the draconian response, featuring the most extensive quarantine in history, will bolster his image as a decisive leader. Xi's big test will be in the coming days as the government grapples with a monumental decision: When to summon China back to work. The economy is taking a huge hit, and Xi will have to balance the hardships of a population stuck at home against the potential for further infection—and suffering—if workers come flooding back prematurely. Li's death may have forced a reckoning of China's closed information regime. In his final days, rigged up to an oxygen tank on a hospital bed, he reflected on the nature of censorship in a remarkably frank interview with the Chinese magazine Caixin. "I believe there should be more than one voice in a healthy society," he said. _____________________________________________________
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