20 Obituaries Reported in Two Weeks at Peking University Health System

Obituaries fail to mention cause of death

A man walks outside the Peking University People's Hospital in Beijing on Feb. 21, 2020. Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images

Peking University Health Science Center released 20 obituaries between Dec. 20, 2022 and Jan. 7, 2023—a little over two weeks. The deceased join a growing list of public figures whose deaths have been announced in recent weeks.

After China abruptly relaxed its zero-COVID policies in early December, it saw an overwhelming outbreak of the virus. Yet the reported death toll remains low, with new deaths each day said to be in the single digits.

However, the large number of prominent obituaries—among celebrities, academics, scientists, and business figures—is drawing worldwide attention as it undermines the official narrative.

Notable Deceased

Most of the deceased from the medical school were advanced in years; the youngest was 56 years old. Nineteen out of the 20 obituaries failed to mention a specific cause of death. The only exception was that of Tong Tanjun, a cytologist from the University’s department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, who died after an accidental fall.

Notable were two prominent professors of public health, Lu Chunlin, 86, and Cao Jiaqi, 98. As part of a surgical team, both men participated in the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) efforts to provide aid to North Korea during the Korean War (referred to by the regime as the effort to “resist U.S. aggression and aid Korea”).

In addition, Lu and Lin Kechun, 96, founder of Peking University’s Department of Biophysics, were pioneers in the field of nuclear radiation pollution. According to Lin’s eulogy, the research was “an important preliminary investigation into the environmental ecological impact of nuclear radiation.”

All three professors were members of the CCP.

Leader in Organ Transplants

Peking University Health Science Center is the medical school of Peking University. The sprawling Peking University Health Science system includes 6 directly affiliated hospitals, 4 co-managed hospitals, and 11 teaching hospitals.

The Center is known as a leader in the field of organ transplantation. The dark side of its pioneering work in the field is its alleged involvement with forced organ harvesting. Several of the hospitals under its supervision have suspected connections to the practice.

Forced Organ Harvesting Allegations

The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (WOIPFG), a U.S. based nonprofit, has been tracking Chinese involvement in the crime of live organ harvesting since 2006.

The focus of WOIPFG’s efforts is China’s use of Falun Gong adherents to supply its thriving transplant industry.

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual practice based on the moral principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance. Introduced in May 1992, it quickly gained a huge following, with official estimates of 70 to 100 million practitioners.

In 1999, then-CCP leader Jiang Zemin launched a campaign against Falun Gong, with the goal of wiping out the practice. Since that time, hundreds of thousands of Falun Gong members have fallen victim to China’s “reeducation” centers, psychiatric wards, and prisons.

There is extensive evidence, including first-hand accounts and recorded admissions by medical staff, that Falun Gong members are a primary source of organs for transplant, despite official statements to the contrary.

According to WOIPFG’s investigative reports, nine hospitals in the Peking University Health system are suspected of participating in forced organ harvesting.

Three of Peking University’s directly affiliated hospitals, two of its co-managed hospitals, and four of its teaching hospitals have medical personnel on WOIPFG’s suspect list.

The Numbers Don’t Add Up

In 2013, Zhu Jiye, director of the Hepatobiliary Surgery Program at Peking University People’s Hospital, told China Economic Weekly that the hospital had performed 4,000 liver and kidney transplants in a one-year period.

Zhu claimed that all organs for the transplants were obtained from death-row prisoners. However, according to statistics published by Amnesty International, the number of executed prisoners in China between 2000 and 2005 averaged only 1600 per year, raising questions about the source of the transplanted organs.

According to the WOIPFG report, Peking University Organ Transplant Center has received an enormous amount of funding for its work in organ transplantation.  Over 20 million yuan (about $2.8 million) flowed to the center in 2021, including funds from the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Ministry of Education’s Doctoral Program Fund.

Ironic Link for CCP Cadres

The extensive list of obituaries at the renowned medical school may not be coincidental. Loyal party members who form China’s academic, scientific and medical elite have access to first-class health care. That world-class care—unavailable to most Chinese—frequently includes organ transplants.

Although they sometimes bestow extended longevity on senior party members, organ transplants have their limits. When it comes to COVID-19, they may actually be a risk factor, as transplant recipients must take anti-rejection drugs that suppress their immune systems.

A U.S. study published last month in the journal Transplantation found that solid organ transplant recipients (kidney, heart, lung, liver) were four to seven times more likely to die of COVID-19.