China's censors tried to control the narrative on a hero doctor's death. It backfired terribly.

Hong Kong (CNN)Speaking to state media in late December, one of China's top medical officials hailed eight residents of Wuhan who had attempted to blow the whistle on the coronavirus outbreak now devastating the country. "In retrospect, we should highly praise them," said Zeng Guang, chief epidemiologist at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CCDC). "They were wise before the outbreak." One of those whistleblowers, detained for spreading "rumors" as the city's government continued to downplay the dangers of the virus, was Li Wenliang. A young doctor in one of Wuhan's main hospitals, Li posted in a private group chat about the spread of a "SARS-like" virus. "I only wanted to remind...