China Pharmaceutical King and Extreme Admirer of Mao Zedong Dies

On July 12, Xu Jingren, chairman of Chinese pharmaceutical giant Yangtze River Pharmaceutical Group, died of a heart attack at the age of 77. In the background is the office area of Yangtze River Pharmaceuticals' Taizhou headquarters. Illustration by The Epoch Times

Xu Jingren, chairman of Yangtze River Pharmaceutical Group, China’s top-ranked pharmaceutical company, recently died of a heart attack at the age of 77. His sudden death once again drew attention to a phenomenon observed before: worshipping the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s head “Chairman Mao” brings people bad luck.

Before his death on July 12, Xu had repeatedly appeared on the rich list. For example, in 2020, with 47 billion yuan ($7.05 billion) in assets, he ranked 91st on the “Hurun Rich List.” This year, he and his family ranked No. 705 on the “Forbes Global Rich List” with $4.1 billion in assets.