Visitors take an oath in front of a communist flag (not seen) at the entrance of Peking University's Red Building, where a new exhibition has been set up as part of the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party of China, on June 30, 2021 in Beijing, China. (Andrea Verdelli/Getty Images)
At least 18 renowned academicians, professors, and researchers have reportedly died within two weeks, adding to a surge of obituaries as the COVID-19 epidemic continues in China. Some of the professors came from the Harbin Institute of Technology, a military-affiliated university, and Peking University, one of the birthplaces of Marxism where the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) took root.
In the face of rising infections from the EG.5 virus, a newly mutated strain of COVID-19, official obituaries use the term “disease” as the cause of death for public figures to cover up COVID death tolls. Meanwhile, doctors in most provinces and cities have treated the affected patients as if they had the flu.
This round of unusually high density of deaths targeted professors at the universities, for example, top-notch scientists in various fields, epidemiologists, experts in military materials research, red movie producers, and biologists making in vitro fertilization (IVF) babies.
Although some of these deceased were already in their 70s, 80s, or 90s, they had devoted most of their lives to the communist regime and had exerted their expertise to the fullest for the growth of the CCP.
Collective Obituaries from the National Defense-Affiliated University
As of Sept. 11, Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT) had published six obituaries of professors, ranging in age from 79 to 91, in two weeks.
HIT was founded in 1920 and is one of the “Seven Sons of National Defense” under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
In 2020, the U.S. Entity Sanctions List added China’s “Seven Sons of National Defense,” accusing a risk to U.S. national security due to allegations of human rights abuses or involvement in weapons of mass destruction and other military activities.
Freshmen from the Nanjing University of Science and Technology practice shooting skills during a military training session in Nanjing of Jiangsu Province, China on Sept. 11, 2007. (China Photos/Getty Images)
The other six “Seven Sons of National Defense” comprise Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and Harbin Engineering University.
Among those newly declared dead, Yi Kai was a CCP member and a retired teacher at HIT’s Student Work Department. He had secretly participated in CCP underground activities in 1948 and then took part in the Battle of Triangle Hill and the Chinese Fifth Phase Offensive during the Korean War. Since 1971, he worked at HIT’s Armed Forces Department. The official obituary described him as a “loyal communist soldier.”
Su Erhuang was a CCP member and a professor at the HIT’s Institute of Energy Science and Engineering. He was one of the founders of the hydraulic machinery and fluid transmission program at HIT.
Gao Jinghua was a CCP member and former teaching secretary of HIT’s Department of Precision Instrumentation.
Pan Qishu served as editor-in-chief of the university newspaper from 1996 to 2006. Luo Zhaolie was a professor at HIT’s Institute of Economics and Management. Huang Daqing was a professor at HIT’s Institute of Electrical Engineering and Automation, and had participated in the renovation project of Baohe Hall of the Palace Museum in Beijing.
Five Professors Die in Four Days at University of Marxist Origin
Peking University (PKU)’s official website shows five professors died of illness in four days from Aug. 25 to Aug. 28.
Members of China Popular Liberation Army's choir perform songs under a portrait of Chairman Mao Zedong near Beijing as they celebrate Mao's thought and the "Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution" on July 10, 1967. CHINA OUT (Xinhua/AFP via Getty Images)
PKU was the first base for the spread of Marxism in China; the earliest group of Chinese communists and Marxists came from Peking University. Early leaders of the CCP, such as Chen Duxiu, Li Dazhao, and Mao Zedong, taught or worked at Peking University.
On Aug. 28, Liu Bin, a CCP member and PKU’s Department of Human Anatomy and Histoembryology professor, passed away at 86.
Known as the “Father of in vitro fertilization (IVF) baby,” Mr. Liu was the director of the Histology and Embryology Department at Beijing Medical University and co-founded the first “Reproductive Engineering Research Laboratory” in China and gave birth to the first IVF baby in 1988. He, therefore, was one of the first recipients of the special government allowance from the State Council in 1990. The official announcement called him an “outstanding CCP member”
On Aug. 26, Xu Mengxia died in Beijing at 92. He was a professor of PKU’s Institute of Electronics and an expert specializing in communications and electronics and the national digital high-definition television R&D engaging in “HDTV compression coding technology tracking research,” a state-funded project.
According to obituaries, three professors died on the same day of Aug. 25 for unspecified illnesses. They are:
Gong Enzhong, 77, was a CCP member and a professor at PKU’s Department of Pathology of the Institute of Basic Medical Sciences. He was the director of the Biomedical Laboratory Teaching Center. He was awarded the national and Beijing municipal teaching achievement award many times.
Gu Hanzhen, 88, was a member of the China Association for Promoting Democracy and a PKU’s Institute of Chemical and Molecular Engineering professor. She played a role in research on superoxide and intermetallic compounds, along with the first use of rare earth permanent magnet materials through the reductive diffusion method in China.
Yu Xixian, 83, was a member of the China Democratic League and a professor at PKU’s Institute of Urbanism and Environment, and had served as the honorary president of the China Yijing Association, a member of the Standing Committee of the Great Wall Society of China, and a member of the Beijing Municipal Museum of Literature and History.
Obituaries From Other Universities
According to incomplete statistics, at least nine other renowned professors, researchers, and senior engineers from Chinese universities died in about half a month from late August to early September. Most of them were CCP members.
Cui Xiuzhen, a senior engineer at China University of Petroleum, passed away on Sept. 10 in Beijing at 86. She was deputy director of the Office of Science and Technology Development at the University of Petroleum.
Lu Shouyun, 96, a crop breeder and professor at the College of Agriculture of China Agricultural University, passed away on Sept. 10. She enjoyed the special government subsidy of the State Council since 1992 and was awarded many scientific and technological awards by the Ministry of Agriculture and the State Education Commission.
Tu Meizhen, a retired teacher in the Department of Geosciences at Beijing Normal University, died on Sept. 9 at 86. In July 2021, she received the medal of “50 Years of Honor in the CCP.”
Chai Chunhua, a professor at Hainan Normal University, died on Sept. 7 at 90. Mr. Chai was one of the first experts to be granted special subsidies by the State Council, served as the first dean of the Institute of International Education at Hainan Normal University and president of the Linguistic Society of Hainan Province, and was involved in the initiation of the Rhetoric Society of China.
Liu Peixun, a researcher at the Peking Union Medical College of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (CAMS), passed away on Sept. 5 at 69. Mr. Liu was a member of the Academic Committee of the Institute of Radiology of the CAMS, and he was awarded the May 1 Labor Medal twice by the Tianjin Federation of Trade Unions.
Situ Zhaodun, a professor at the Beijing Film Academy and former head of the Department of Movie Director, died on Aug. 31 at 85. Mr. Situ, the father of Chinese documentaries, had created red works such as Children of the People’s Commune, Our People’s National Congress, and Western Dolls. Mr. Situ’s father, Situ Huimin, was once the deputy minister of the Ministry of Culture, the director of the Technical Committee of the Ministry of Culture, and the vice-chairman of the Chinese Filmmakers Association.
People pass the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, the office of Tu Youyou, the first Chinese woman to win a Nobel prize for medicine, in Beijing on Oct. 6, 2015. (STR/AFP via Getty Images)
Yu Shunzhang, dean of the Institute of Public Health of Fudan University (formerly Shanghai Medical University) and a specialist in epidemiology, passed away on Aug. 28 in Shanghai at 91. Mr. Yu’s uncle, Yu Huanwen, was a renowned epidemiologist and a researcher at the Academy of Military Medical Sciences and head of the Department of Epidemiology after the founding of the CCP in 1949.
Zhang Peiyu, an astronomical historian and researcher at the Purple Mountain Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, died on Aug. 27 at 88. Mr. Zhang was a member of the Chinese Astronomical Society, the Chinese Pre-Qin Historical Society, and the International Astronomical Union.
Hu Ying, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, chemical engineer, and professor at East China University of Science and Technology (ECUT), passed away on Aug. 27 at 89. Mr. Hu was vice president of the Chinese Chemical Society and was awarded the titles of “Shanghai Model Worker,” “Young and Middle-aged Expert with Outstanding Contributions,” and “Shanghai Educational Meritorious Person” by the CCP.
