Peking University reported the loss of at least eight professors and three cadres to various illnesses in a little over a month, from April to early May.
Among the deceased are eminent figures such as Xiao Zuo, a pioneering scientist in China’s space science sector, and Wu Ho-Mou, a former tenured professor in the United States who joined Peking University in 2006. Also of note is Mun C. Tsang, a graduate of MIT and Stanford University and a prominent scholar in economics and education economics.
Mr. Wu, a professor at the Graduate School of National Development at Peking University, passed away on May 3 in Taipei, Taiwan, due to illness.
Born in Taiwan in 1952, Mr. Wu graduated from the Department of Economics at National Taiwan University in 1974 and went on to study at Stanford University in the United States. He then taught at Rutgers, Tulane, Stanford, and Vanderbilt Universities in the United States. In 1994, he returned to Taiwan as a Distinguished Professor at National Taiwan University and a Research Fellow at Academia Sinica. Mr. Wu began teaching in Mainland China in 1997 and simultaneously held distinguished professorships at several prestigious universities. In 2006, he joined the China Center for Economic Research at Peking University full-time. From 2008 to 2012, he served as the Executive Deputy Dean of the National School of Development at Peking University.
Mr. Tsang, a distinguished professor of education economics and Yangtze Scholar at Peking University and honorary president of the Chinese Society of Education Economics, passed away on April 15 in New York due to illness.
He also served as an honorary professor at several universities, including Beijing Normal University and South China Normal University.
Born in February 1955 in Hong Kong, Mr. Tsang obtained his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Chemical Engineering from MIT, followed by a Master’s in Economics and a Ph.D. in Economics of Education from Stanford University.
Mr. Tsang joined Teachers College Columbia University in 1998 in the Department of International and Transcultural Studies (ITS), where he served as chair. In 2000, he founded the Center on Chinese Education, the first U.S. academic center with a special focus on education development in China.
Mr. Xiao, who died on April 3 in Beijing, was an academician of the International Astronautical Academy. Through his leadership in multiple space physics projects, he made significant contributions to China’s space science capabilities.
Born in December 1936, Mr. Xiao is a professor at the School of Earth and Space Sciences at Peking University. He had served as the former chairman of the Chinese Society for Space Science, head of the Space Physics Committee, and president of the Chinese Society for Space Science.
In his early career, he led the development of plasma experimental devices, high-frequency Doppler ionosphere, and ionospheric absorption detection equipment.
Around 2000, he spearheaded the development of the high-energy particle detector for the China-Brazil “Resource-1” satellite.
Others on the deceased list include Jiang De'ai, a professor at the School of Urban and Environmental Studies; Yang Liwen, a professor of history; Xie Boqing, a professor at the School of Electronics; Yan Wenming, a professor and archaeologist; Shu Yousheng, a professor at the Center for Teaching General Physics; Wan Wenying, former head of the Human Resources Department of Beijing Medical University; Tong Shuying, a political cadre in the Department of Philosophy; and Liu Bo, former deputy Party chief of Beijing Medical University.
Official obituaries for these 11 people all used the general term “died of illness” to explain the cause of death without mentioning a specific disease.
