China’s hypersonic weapon expert, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (hereinafter referred to as CAS), and professor at Beijing Institute of Technology, Fang Daining, passed away in February of this year. It was only recently confirmed by CAS. Fang Daining was the protagonist of the “Kissgate” incident in the scientific community in 2022, and news of his death surfaced in March this year, sparking various speculations amidst a period of purging in the defense industry sector.
On the CAS Academy website’s “Remembering the Academician” section, Fang Daining’s information was updated, stating that he passed away on February 27 this year due to illness at the age of 68. Several Chinese media outlets, including Red Star News, reported on this today, May 19.
Public records show that Fang Daining was born on April 3, 1958, in Nanchang, Jiangxi, with ancestral roots in Ningbo, Zhejiang. He was a renowned expert in the field of hypersonic weapons in China, specializing in materials mechanics. Fang Daining was an academician of CAS, a foreign academician of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering, and a professor at Beijing Institute of Technology. He had previously served as the Vice Dean of the School of Engineering at Peking University and Vice President of Beijing Institute of Technology.
Fang Daining was the central figure in the “Kissgate” incident that occurred in July 2022. During a live-streamed academic conference, a young woman suddenly appeared on camera and repeatedly kissed Fang Daining, who was attending the meeting.
Following the public outcry over the incident, Fang Daining faced disciplinary actions from his university and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He was relieved of his roles as the Chairman of the Academic Committee at BIT and had his qualifications for admitting research students suspended. CAS communicated the cessation of Fang Daining’s rights as an academician, including participating in academic activities organized by the Academy, recommending and electing academicians and foreign academicians, as well as being elected as a member of the permanent leadership organization of the Academy.
The notification from Beijing Institute of Technology at the time stated that the woman in the video was an employee of a Beijing company, not the postdoctoral fellow Li as rumored online. Despite the incident, Fang Daining continued his work but rarely made public appearances.
In March of this year, amidst a wave of incidents involving high-ranking officials in the CCP’s military industry complex and academicians from CAS and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, news of Fang Daining’s passing on February 27 due to illness emerged but was not officially announced.
On March 18, the South China Morning Post, citing unverified online sources, reported that Fang Daining had died from a sudden illness while on a business trip in South Africa.
Additionally, the globally renowned independent academic publishing house, World Science Publishing Company, issued an English obituary on its official website, stating that “Professor Fang Daining has unfortunately passed away.”
Both Beijing Institute of Technology and CAS had not made public announcements regarding Fang Daining’s death at the time, and his name remained on the list of academicians in the CAS Technical Sciences Department and related records at BIT until recently when it was removed. However, as of the publication date of May 19 by Da Ji Yuan, Beijing Institute of Technology had not yet released any official statements.
Red Star News reported that a former student of Fang Daining revealed that, based on information they received, Fang Daining passed away while attending an academic conference abroad.
The conference Fang Daining attended was reported to be the 7th African Computational Mechanics Conference. According to the information released by the African Computational Mechanics Conference, the event took place in Cape Town, South Africa, from February 25 to 27 this year, where Fang Daining was one of the presenters in a session on the afternoon of February 27.
Previously, there were speculations that Fang Daining’s death might be related to the recent purge in the CCP’s military industry sector.
In the past three years, at least 10 academicians from both CAS and CAE with military backgrounds have been removed from their positions. Among those expelled from CAS are Yang Wei, former Vice President of the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (the “Father of J-20”), Liu Cangli, former director of the China Academy of Engineering Physics, and Liu Guozhi, former director of the CCP Military Commission’s Science and Technology Commission.