On the eve of the Qingming Festival (Tomb-sweeping Day), at least four senior generals of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) died of illness in the four-day period from March 30 to April 2, 2024.
The deaths include CCP Major General Zhang Lixiong, CCP Lieutenant General and former deputy commander of the Air Force in the Nanjing Military Region Han Decai, CCP Lieutenant General and former deputy commander of the Guangzhou Military Region Song Wenhan, and CCP Navy Rear Admiral Huo Ling.
4 Deaths in 4 Days
Song Wenhan, former deputy commander of the Guangzhou Military Region and retired Lieutenant General, died on March 30 due to illness. Born in June 1939, Mr. Song joined the PLA Army in January 1958 and served as chief of staff and deputy commander of the Guangzhou Military Region during his military career.Lieutenant General Han Decai, 90, former deputy commander of the Nanjing Military Region Air Force, died on April 1.
Mr. Han enlisted in the Army in March 1949 and graduated from the Air Force Aviation School in 1951. In early 1952, at the age of 19, he participated in the Korean War.
He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general of the Air Force in 1991 and had served as a division commander and commander of the Nanjing Military Region Air Force.
He was awarded the title of “Second Class War Hero” by the CCP’s Central Military Commission, as well as various medals and military honors by the Kim regime of North Korea.
Huo Ling, a female rear admiral and former Chief Engineer of a naval base, died on April 1 in Beijing at the age of 77. Born in 1947, Ms. Huo was appointed chief engineer (military rank of vice admiral) of a naval base in 2000 and was promoted to the rank of rear admiral in 2002.
Her father, Huo Shilian, is the CCP’s former Minister of Agriculture and a former member of the Central Advisory Committee.
Zhang Lixiong, former advisor of Fuzhou Military Region and the longest-serving military official in the PLA, died of illness on April 2.
Born on Nov. 21, 1913, Mr. Zhang joined the CCP in 1931 and then joined the Red Army the following year. He was awarded the colonel rank in 1955 and was promoted to major general in 1961. He had served as deputy commander, deputy chief of staff, and political commissar of the Yunnan Military Region, political commissar of the Jiangxi Military Region, and advisor of the Fuzhou Military Region.
40-Plus Military Deaths Since July 2023
At least 41 senior CCP generals have died of illness from July 2023 to mid-March 2024, based on incomplete counts. All are members of the CCP.The long list includes General Yu Zhenwu, former commander of the PLA Air Force; Major General Wen Gu, former chief of the artillery department of the General Staff; Lieutenant General Wang Tongzhuo, former deputy political commissar of the Guangzhou Military Region; Lieutenant General Shen Binyi, former deputy commander of the Navy; Ling Yongshun, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and professor at the National Defense University; Lieutenant General Wei Jinshan, former political commissar of the Navy; Lieutenant General Shi Kexin, former deputy political commissar of the Second Artillery; Lieutenant General Qian Haihao, former vice president of the Academy of Military Science; Lieutenant General Shen Chunnian, former deputy director of the National Defense Science and Industry Commission; and Sheng Zhiyong, academician of the Academy of Engineering and former deputy director of the 304th Hospital, a military hospital.
