Why Is the Mortality Rate High Among China’s Post-1980s Generation?

On November 21, 2023, Beijing Children's Hospital was overwhelmed with patients. (Video screenshot)

[People News] Recently, many people have come across claims such as: “By the end of 2024, the mortality rate among the post-1980s generation (born between 1980 and 1989) has exceeded 5.2%, equivalent to one in 20 already deceased.” Some reports also state that “the mortality rate of the post-1980s has surpassed that of the post-1970s,” with “11 million individuals already deceased.” The oldest of this generation is only 45, and the youngest is 36. It’s said that this data comes from China’s seventh national census, and some have labeled the post-1980s generation as the “exhausted generation” or “the cursed golden generation.”

However, the seventh national census was conducted in 2020. How could data from 2020 be used to calculate mortality rates for 2024? Upon further investigation, these claims appear to originate from the popular platform DeepSeek. This raises two possibilities: either DeepSeek is spreading false information, or they have arrived at these alarming numbers through extensive data analysis.

Nevertheless, the rapid rise in deaths among middle-aged and young people since the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020 is undeniable. Not only has the author personally heard of at least five post-1980s individuals who passed away suddenly, but many deaths of this generation have also been reported in the media.

Following the release of this data, numerous netizens shared stories of post-1980s acquaintances passing away. One netizen revealed that a Beijing bus driver named Jiao Jie died on February 15 at the age of 40. Another shared that a childhood friend passed away in 2023 at the age of 39, leaving behind three young children. Some deaths were caused by illnesses like acute leukemia, with victims leaving behind very young children. There was also an individual born in 1982 who died after heart stent surgery. Others died in car accidents at just over 40. If calculated based on these accounts, the number of post-1980s deaths is indeed substantial.

Reports of deaths in 2023, 2024, and 2025 from mainland Chinese media also reveal the following:

February 4, 2025: Wu Yuyan, Deputy Editor of the Review Department at Guangdong’s New Weekly, died of influenza A at age 41. February 19, 2025: A netizen reported the sudden death of Dr. Lou Huayong from Guizhou Medical University at age 39.

Deaths from 2024 include: November 13, 2024: Yan Luobin, Associate Professor at the School of Geography at Southwest University, passed away from leukemia in his hometown of Xingtai, Hebei, at age 37. He had previously appeared in a CCTV documentary on Wuyi Mountain National Park.

September 29, 2024: Zou Jiangpeng, a Communist Party member and expert in young white spirits (liquor), passed away in Guiyang at age 43. Zou held positions as Deputy General Manager and Director of the Technical Research Institute at Guizhou Jinsha Liquor Co., Ltd., and he also taught at Guizhou University and Hunan Agricultural University. During his time as a state-sponsored student, Zou published articles in People’s Daily overseas editions glorifying the CCP.

September 26, 2024: Tao Lei, Deputy Party Secretary of the School of Chemical Engineering and Technology at Xi’an Jiaotong University, died at age 44.

September 18, 2024: Yin Jianhong, Assistant Dean and Party Committee member of the National Development Research Institute at Peking University, passed away at age 43.

September 17, 2024: Zhang Qile, Associate Professor and Master’s Supervisor at the Human Rights Research Institute of Southwest University of Political Science and Law, died at age 38. She had published papers supporting then-Chongqing Party Secretary Bo Xilai’s anti-corruption campaign. Both Zhang and her father, Zhang Yonghe, a professor at the same university, promoted the CCP’s narrative on “human rights.”

Deaths in 2023: December 25: Pang Wei, lecturer in the Department of Public Finance at the School of Economics, Beijing Technology and Business University, passed away at the age of 34. During his lifetime, Pang led a youth humanities and social science research project funded by China’s Ministry of Education and participated in projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the National Social Science Foundation, and the Ministry of Education’s major philosophy and social science research initiatives.

December 24: Luo Qi, a well-known financial journalist in mainland China, passed away suddenly from severe pneumonia at the age of 36.

December 19: Tong Fang, a female TV host from Yunnan, died suddenly from an illness at age 37.

December 15: Wang Qing, a Communist Party member and second-level staff member in the Vocational Education Office of Jiangsu Provincial Department of Education, passed away suddenly from an illness during work in Nanjing at age 35.

December 3: Qiu Yongcai, a Communist Party member and professor at the School of Environment and Energy at South China University of Technology, died at age 40. In recent years, Qiu had led or participated in nine key research projects funded by the Chinese government, with a total budget of 16 million yuan.

July 1: Feng Yanghe, an expert in command and control and artificial intelligence and an associate professor at the School of Systems Engineering, National University of Defense Technology, died in a car accident in Beijing at age 38.

February 25: Ding Yuanbo, a well-known journalist from Hangzhou and a reporter at Qianjiang Evening News, was found dead at home at age 42.

January 10: Li Xiaojiang, Chief of the Oncology Department at the First Affiliated Hospital of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and a doctoral supervisor, died from illness at age 42.

January 3: Cheng Lei, a deputy-level official at the College of History and Culture at Shaanxi Normal University, passed away at age 43.

A netizen from Heilongjiang commented: "This year, the thing that struck me the most is how many people in their 40s and 50s are dying. It seems like it’s happening almost every day. It’s terrifying. Why is this happening? The sub-healthy population is concentrated in the post-1970s and post-1980s generations."

While busy work, stress, and sub-health may be contributing factors, they are not the main reason. The article claims that the more significant factor is that they did not distance themselves from the "evil CCP." According to common assumptions and Chinese experts' logic, this age group of young and middle-aged adults should not have serious underlying conditions and should be able to withstand the virus. However, reality has proven otherwise, as the virus has not spared them either. This, it is claimed, demonstrates that "plagues have eyes."

In March 2020, at the start of the pandemic, Li Hongzhi, founder of Falun Gong, warned in his article Rationality: "The current 'CCP Virus' (Wuhan pneumonia) has come with a purpose and a target. It is here to eliminate members of the evil party and those who are aligned with it. Stay away from the evil CCP, do not stand by its side, for it is backed by a red devil and engages in rogue behavior without limit. The divine will begin to eliminate it, and those who support it will also be eliminated."

Since the pandemic began, large numbers of Communist Party members, officials, and experts, scholars, celebrities, and ordinary people who supported the CCP have died from the virus. This explains why the mortality rate is particularly high among those born in the 1970s and 1980s, who form the backbone of various fields.

In January 2023, Li Hongzhi further revealed a "heavenly secret," stating that 400 million people had died from the pandemic in China over three years, and that 500 million would die by the end of the pandemic wave. Now, two years later, the waves of the pandemic continue, and the true number of deaths remains unknown.

To avoid the plague and escape disaster, Li Hongzhi advised that people should "sincerely repent to the divine, reflect on their wrongdoings, and hope for an opportunity to correct their behavior. This is the real solution, the true panacea." Most importantly, he emphasized that people should quickly distance themselves from the CCP, which promotes conflict with nature and heaven.