In the past two months, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law (ZUEL) in Wuhan has published at least 10 obituaries. From the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 through May 28, the university reported 149 deaths of faculty and staff.
In December 2022, in the midst of a new COVID-19 outbreak in China, the university reported the highest number of annual deaths in a decade, with 48 published obituaries, 18 of which occurred in December alone.
Among the recent ten deaths between April and May 2024, nine people were members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Some individuals were relatively young, including: retired teacher Yang Qi, who died on May 19 at the age of 62; retired teacher Guo Haogang from the School of Marxism, who died on April 16 at the age of 65; retired staff member Wang Weijun, who died on May 7 at the age of 67.
Additionally, two other individuals had just turned 70 at the time of their passing.
ZUEL is one of the top universities located in Wuhan, China, the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic. It specializes in economics, finance, management, and law, and is directly administered by the country’s Ministry of Education.
The predecessor of ZUEL was Zhongyuan University, founded in 1948 by the Central China Bureau of the CCP, with Deng Xiaoping as the first secretary and Chen Yi as the head of the preparatory committee. After the CCP seized power in China, the school went through several rounds of restructurings, and was renamed Zhongnan University of Economics in September 1985, with Deng Xiaoping inscribing the university’s name. In May 2000, Zhongnan University of Economics merged with Zhongnan Institute of Politics and Law to form the new ZUEL. In September 2005, it was included in the national “211 Project.”
The “211 Project” served as a recognition of a school’s comprehensive performance as one of China’s top universities. By 2020, there will be 116 universities in China that are part of the “211 Project.”
