China Lost Two Academicians and Eight Top Professors in the First Eight Days of October

Patients wait to see the doctors at a fever clinic of Dongguan People's Hospital in Dongguan, Guangdong Province of China, on Dec. 20, 2022. VCG/VCG via Getty Images

Between Oct. 1 and Oct. 8 this year, at least two academicians and eight renowned professors died of illness in China, nine of whom were members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

These included Pan Jingfu, an academician of the Academy of Engineering and the CCP’s “father of missile destroyers”; Zheng Guangmei, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a professor at Beijing Normal University; Wei Dingren, a constitutional scholar at Peking University; Wang Yu, a professor at the school of philosophy at the People’s University of China; and Zhou Zhongying, former dean of the Nanjing College of traditional Chinese medicine, among others.

China observed its National Day on Oct. 1. Most Chinese people have a seven-day holiday from Oct. 1 to Oct. 7, known as the Big Golden Week.

During this year’s Big Golden Week, many videos were circulated on social media showing hospitals in major Chinese cities crowded in the middle of the night with patients hospitalized with fever.

Two Academicians Died Within a Week

On Oct. 3, Zheng Guangmei, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, professor of the school of Life Sciences at Beijing Normal University, and a zoologist and bird ecologist, passed away in Beijing after medical treatment was unsuccessful.

Mr. Zheng, born in November 1932, was elected an academician in November 2003. He has served as vice president of the Zoological Society of China, president and honorary chairman of the Society of Ornithology, and member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the China National Committee of the International Biodiversity Program, and had received numerous scientific and technological awards at the national, provincial and ministerial levels.

Pan Jingfu, born in 1930, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and an expert in ship engineering, died in Shanghai on Oct. 8, 2023, after medical treatment failed to revive him from his illness.

Mr. Pan was mainly involved in the research of surface ship design. He led the design of the CCP’s first generation of missile destroyers and the second generation of new missile destroyers. He was therefore honored as the “father of missile destroyers” by the CCP.

He has been an academician of the Academy of Engineering since 1995 and is a multiple winner of the National Science and Technology award.

Eight Renowned Professors

At least eight well-known professors passed away during the eight-day span from Oct. 1 to Oct. 8, according to obituaries posted online.

Wei Dingren, born in January 1930, a professor at Peking University Law School and a constitutional scholar, died in Beijing on Oct. 6, 2023.

Mr. Wei was involved in the drafting of the CCP’s 1982 Constitution, the revision of the 1979 Election Law, and the drafting of the Basic Law of Hong Kong and the Basic Law of Macau, among other laws.

Mao Zuyi, born in January 1928, an expert in stomatology, passed away in Chengdu on Oct. 5, 2023, due to illness. Mr. Mao was a member of the National University Textbook Editing Committee, head of the Editorial Review Group of Stomatology, and chief editor of a textbook on stomatology. He is also a recipient of the special allowance from the State Council.

Xuan Jiaji, born in September 1945, professor and former vice president of Hunan University, died in Changsha on Oct. 3 after unsuccessful medical treatment. He was a member of the State Council’s Academic Credential Review Group and was entitled to the State Council’s special government allowance.

Linguist Ma Qingzhu, born in September 1942, a professor of Chinese language and literature at the school of Literature, Nankai University, died of illness on Oct. 3, 2023, in Tianjin.

Sculptor Chen Shuguang, born in 1929, died in Beijing on Oct. 3, 2023. She was involved in many major sculpture projects that served the political agenda of the CCP, such as the so-called Monument to the People’s Heroes.

Zhou Zhongying, born in 1928, died in Nanjing on Oct. 2, 2023.

Wang Yu, a professor at the School of Philosophy at Renmin University of China, was born in August 1926 and died in Beijing on Oct. 1, 2023. Wang was the deputy director and party chief of the school of Philosophy at Renmin University, where he taught and researched the philosophical works of former CCP leader Mao Zedong.

Yang Kecheng, born in 1940, was a professor at the Corn Research Institute of Sichuan Agricultural University and died on Oct. 1, 2023 in Ya'an after a long illness. Yang Kecheng was a director of the China Association for the Promotion of Agricultural Science and Technology and vice chairman of the Sichuan Agricultural Science and Technology Management Research Association, and received a special allowance from the State Council.