Meet the contrarians

Ali Miraj | Issue 5 | Comment, Magazine

From the Archive

LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 20: The newly restored Painted Hall is pictured at the Old Royal Naval College on March 20, 2019 in London, England. The Painted Hall, designed by Sir Christopher Wren as a ceremonial dining room in the early 18th centrury, reopens to the public on March 23, 2019 after a two and a half year £8.5 million conservation project. (Photo by Jack Taylor/Getty Images)

As an increasing number of people are being silenced for challenging the status quo, the Contrarian Prize recognises individuals who dare to be different

The opthalmologist Li Wenliang was first to raise the alarm on Covid, yet he was to die from the disease just months after his appeal. Wenliang, who worked at Wuhan Central Hospital, had noticed unusual symptoms and suspected a serious new respiratory illness. He was summoned by the authorities and made to sign a statement in which he was accused of spreading rumours and disrupting social order. Wenliang’s assertion that “there should be more than one voice in a healthy society” was a brave one to make in a totalitarian state. The UK and the US are supposed safe havens of liberalism and democracy, but those values are crumbling. Li Wenliang would be disappointed, and so should we. Infected institutions It is no longer enough to silence those whose views are considered objectionable. No, they must be “cancelled” – that is, rounded upon, bullied and harassed until the baying mob has satisfied itself by destroying the reputation and often the career of the unfortunate individual who has ...

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