Wuhan, China. The 34-year-old ophthalmologist Li Wenliang was the first to speak out about the COVID-19 virus on the popular messaging app WeChat. He was stopped by the police, interrogated, accused of spreading false news, and forced to sign a self-declaration and confess to his crime. He was then released to return to his job at a Wuhan hospital, where he died of the coronavirus (COVID-19) on February 7, 2020. Faced with his enormous popularity, the establishment changed its mind and posthumously turned him into a national hero.
