So far in 2024, at least 20 renowned scholars in Shanghai have died of illness, including three academicians. Among them, 12 were members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and four were under 60 years old.
Chen Xuehua, deputy chief physician of the Department of Respiratory Medicine at Fudan University’s Zhongshan Hospital, died on March 16 at the age of 55.
Ms. Chen has been working on the clinical frontline of the Department of Respiratory Medicine since 1997. She died while receiving medical treatment at her own hospital.
Chen Xiaoyun, a female professor of psychology at the School of Social Development and Public Policy, Fudan University, passed away in Shanghai on Jan. 20 due to illness. She was 59 years old.
Mr. Chen had served as a support expert for the United Nations Children’s Fund projects and was the vice president of the Shanghai Psychological Management Society.
Shi Xiaohua, an expert in the application of computer intelligence technology at Shanghai Jiao Tong University and an executive member of the Information System Professional Committee of the Chinese Computer Society, passed away on Jan. 17 at the age of 47 in Shanghai Renji Hospital due to a sudden illness.
Mr. Shi received his master’s degree in intelligence and a doctorate in computer software and theory from Shanghai Jiao Tong University. He served as deputy director of the library system development department, director of the platform and technology support department, and director of the university’s information technology department.
Zhang Hong, an expert in the integration of Chinese and Western medicine, died on Jan. 16 at the age of 55.
He was the director of the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, chief physician, professor, and doctoral supervisor at the Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine.
This hospital is the first Chinese medicine medical institution established after the founding of communist China, and is a key national hospital for integrative medicine.
Three Academicians
Zhu Nenghong, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, an expert in astronomical and optical telescopes, and the chief engineer and former deputy director of the Shanghai Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, died on March 8 in Shanghai due to illness.The official obituary described him as an “outstanding member of the Chinese Communist Party.”
Born in November 1939, Mr. Zhu was responsible for the design and development of China’s first astrometric telescope with the largest aperture of 1.56 meters. He has also developed a large number of astronomical and optical observation equipment, such as the first two-speed lunar camera and the vacuum photographic zenith tube. He was awarded a number of scientific and technological prizes at the national, provincial, and ministerial levels, and became an academician in May 1995.
Mr. Zhu was once the chairman of the so-called Anti-Cult Association of Shanghai, and in this capacity, he blatantly demonized and vilified Falun Gong.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, was introduced to the public in 1992 by Mr. Li Hongzhi. The spiritual practice is based on the guiding principles of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance, which teach practitioners to be good people and strive to become better so they can return to their true natures.
The CCP began a full-scale persecution of Falun Gong in July 1999. In the past 20-plus years, Falun Gong practitioners all over the world have been resisting the persecution, and at the same time, the practice has spread all over the world. Today, Falun Gong is practiced in over 100 countries around the globe.
Sun Jun, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, geotechnical and underground engineering expert, and professor at Tongji University, passed away on March 1 at Zhongshan Hospital in Shanghai due to illness.
Born in 1926, Mr. Sun was the head of the Department of Structural Engineering at Tongji University, the convenor of the Civil Engineering Discussion Group of the Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council, and the convenor of the Civil Engineering Discussion Group of the National Natural Science Foundation of China. He was elected as an academician in 1991.
Mr. Sun participated in a large number of major national engineering projects, including the Three Gorges Water Conservancy Project, Qinling Highway Tunnel, Jiangyin and Runyang Yangtze River Bridges, Sutong Yangtze River Bridge, and the Shanghai Underground Railway Project. He won numerous awards at the national and provincial levels.
Hu Hesheng, a female academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a renowned mathematician at Fudan University in Shanghai, died on Feb. 2, due to illness.
Ms. Hu was a longtime researcher in differential geometry. She was elected as an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1991, becoming the first female academician in the Chinese mathematics circle.
In addition to her academic honor as an academician, Ms. Hu was also a member of the 7th, 8th, and 9th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, the country’s symbolic political advisory body, and the 7th President of the Shanghai Mathematical Society.
The other 13 professors on the deceased list include: Xu Xianjin, retired associate professor, School of Mathematical Sciences, Fudan University; Cheng Yunshang, retired associate professor, School of Marxism, Fudan University; Chen Zhidong, Professor of Law, Fudan University; Wang Wenchu, a professor and historian at Fudan University; Zhang Guoding, professor and former head of the Department of Materials Science, Shanghai Jiaotong University; Wang Zengwei, professor of the School of Architecture and Urban Planning, and the first Chairman of the Department of Industrial Design, Tongji University; Chen Dakang, lifelong professor, Department of Chinese Language, East China Normal University; Gao Yunlong, sculptor and professor of the School of Fine Arts, East China Normal University; Yang Zhiliang, professor of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences, East China Normal University; Lin Eryao, former CCP party chief and head of the piano department of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music; Liu Shubing, professor and former head of the Department of Ethnic Music at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music; Yao Daneng, retired professor of the Shanghai Institute of Technology; and Gong Zhenbang, an expert in robotics and former vice-president of the University of Shanghai.
