“The events in Wuhan show the potential anger, dissatisfaction, and critical thinking that lies beneath the surface. It is clear that the government lost control of how the history of the virus outbreak was being written….
“It is possible on an individual basis to harass people to the point that they can’t work. But if they are even just a little bit free, they start interviewing, and then all they need is a computer and a data connection to mount their challenge…. And when dissatisfaction grows, and a wider population is mobilized, the state can become overwhelmed.”
—Ian Johnson, Sparks: China’s Underground Historians and their Battle for the Future
