Top engineers and scientists dying at an unprecedented rate in China after lifting of Covid controls
- The Chinese Academy of Engineering reported that 20 members have died in less than a month, compared with an average annual death rate of 16
- One doctor in Beijing said academy members usually have privileged access to healthcare, but now there are no beds available to treat them
The Chinese Academy of Engineering said on its website that 20 members had died between December 15 and January 4.
This compares with an average of 16 deaths a year between 2017 and 2021 and 13 deaths in 2021.
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Inside an overcrowded Beijing hospital struggling with Covid surge in China
It has not responded to requests for comment.
The youngest academy member to die was Ti Tianchu, 77, a physicist who specialised in atomic clocks, while the oldest was 102-year-old Zhang Jinzhe, who established China’s first paediatric surgery department at Peking University Hospital in 1950.
Those who died recently include Xu Mi, chief engineer of China’s fast nuclear reactor programme; Zhao Zisen, who developed China’s first optical fibre; Zhang Guocheng, a founding engineer in China’s rare earth industry; and Zhao Yinjun, a top national science and technology prizewinner for his contribution to China’s laser weapons.