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Viral Exposure

Viral Exposure: China

China

BBC Radio 4 - Viral Exposure, China

A young doctor’s death shakes the Communist Party.

A young doctor’s death shakes the Communist Party. How coronavirus led to a political crisis in which Beijing transformed a whistle-blower into a hero.

How the coronavirus crisis has exposed fissures and faultlines in nations around the world. The pandemic has challenged China’s notoriously tight grip on the flow of information. A doctor in Wuhan who last year tried to warn colleagues about a strange new virus was scolded by police for spreading "rumours”.  Dr Li Wenliang later caught Covid-19 and gained a huge following on social media from his hospital bed. “I think there should be more than one voice in a healthy society,” he said - an unusually pointed political comment in China. News of his death prompted grief and rage, rattling party officials. Their response revealed both how China can mobilise quickly in response to a crisis - and an underlying political culture of fear, deference and secrecy. 
Presenter: Neal Razzell
Producer: Anna Meisel

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How the coronavirus crisis has exposed fissures and faultlines in nations around the world

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