Concerns about China’s mortality rate have arisen from celebrity deaths at a large number. People are beginning to doubt the official Covid death toll as more and more high-profile Chinese deaths make headlines.
Many people were shocked by the death of opera singer Chu Lanlan, age 40, last month.
Her family expressed their sorrow at her “unexpected passing,” although they did not specify the circumstances surrounding her demise.
After China abandoned its rigorous zero-Covid policy in December, an alarming number of new illnesses and fatalities emerged quickly.
The media has reported that hospitals and crematoriums are at capacity.
However, the country has stopped disclosing daily case data. And also has declared 22 Covid deaths since December, following its own stringent criteria.
All deaths formerly attributed to other causes are now disregarded save those caused by pneumonia and similar respiratory disorders.
This past Wednesday, the WHO issued a warning that China was concealing the full impact of Covid on the country.
The deaths of Chu Lanlan and others, however, have sparked rumors.
Soprano Chu Lanlan reportedly specialized in Peking Opera (a theatrical art in which actors utilize speech, song, dance, and combat moves to tell stories) and was active in humanitarian causes, as reported by the specialized news website Operawire.
Many Chinese netizens were left inconsolable on New Year’s Day after learning of the death of actor Gong Jintang.
Gong, who was 83 at the time, was well-known to many viewers thanks to his role in the longest-running TV series in the country. Since the sitcom was initially broadcast in 2000, his portrayal of Father Kang has enthralled viewers for almost two decades.
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Many on social media speculated that his death was related to the recent passing of other elderly persons, albeit the exact connection was never established.
His co-star, Hu Yanfen, pleaded with God on the Chinese social media network Weibo, asking that the elderly be treated with more respect.
“May Father Kang rest in peace. Numerous senior citizens have lost their lives in this wave. We must take precautions to safeguard our own elderly loved ones, “one Weibo user commented.
Ni Zhen, a respected screenwriter, also passed away recently. The 84-year-work old’s on Raise the Red Lantern (1991) is largely regarded as among the best of Chinese cinema.
Similarly, on January 2nd, at the age of 87, Hu Fuming passed away. He was a former journalist and retired professor from Nanjing University.
After the turbulence of the Cultural Revolution under Mao Zedong, he was the primary author of a renowned commentary released in 1978, ushering in China’s “Boluan Fanzheng” period of eliminating disorder and restoring normalcy.
Chinese media reports that between December 21st and December 26th. 16 scientists from China’s leading science and engineering academies passed away.
There was no mention of Covid in any of the obituaries, but that hasn’t stopped the internet from making assumptions.
Did he also pass away from a “bad flu?” one of the most popular replies to the report of Mr. Ni’s death remarked.
Somebody else wrote, “Even if you scour the whole internet, you can’t uncover any reference to his cause of death.”
However, the November protesters who demanded the end of President Xi Jinping’s zero-Covid policy were also criticized for their actions.
One social media user wondered, “Are those people glad now, watching ancient people… now laying the route for their freedom?”