On October 27, 2023, Wu Zunyou, the chief epidemiologist of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention and expert of the Academic Committee of Beijing Changier Education Foundation, passed away at the age of 60. This day witnessed a significant loss of the disease prevention and control industry in China and the world. Upon hearing the tragic news, Chairman Zhang Yinjun and all colleagues at APEPCY were deeply grieved and commemorated him for his strong support for APEPCY over the past decade.

Mr. Wu Zunyou, as the chief epidemiologist of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, led and participated in the three-year prevention and control of COVID-19. He was involved in assessing the trends of COVID-19 nationwide and in key areas, attended numerous press conferences related to national joint prevention and control mechanisms, and participated in frontline epidemiological investigations of cases. During Covid-19 epidemic, Mr. Wu Zunyou was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, but he continued to be at the frontline of protecting public health for two years after diagnosis.

Mr. Wu Zunyou had also made significant efforts in the field of AIDS prevention and control in the past 20 years, making outstanding contributions to the prevention and treatment of AIDS. Mr. Wu Zunyou combined international theories on AIDS prevention and treatment with domestic practical work. He conducted extensive research and fieldwork against high-risk and key populations such as intravenous drug users, sex workers, migrants, guy men, people infected with HIV, and their spouses and sexual partners. Many of his research findings have become national strategies for AIDS prevention and treatment, benefiting millions of people. He paid special attention to AIDS prevention and sexual health education among adolescent students. Since 2009, Mr. Wu Zunyou has actively worked with APEPCY, from AIDS prevention strategies and health education research to promotion, from adolescent AIDS prevention to sexual health education, from exploring domestic practical experiences to international cooperation. He attended more than ten academic and promotional activities of APEPCY. However, he said, it was just something he should do as a public health worker.

On September 15, 2009, Mr. Wu Zunyou attended the unveiling ceremony of Changier Hut Pilot Project for Liangshan Yi ethnic group in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture co-hosted by APEPCY and the Liangshan Yi Women and Children Development Center at Xichang University and awarded a plaque to the local Love Cottage.

From August 19 to 22, 2011, at the "APEPCY Five-Year Experience Exchange Conference and Daqing Base Unveiling Ceremony" held in Daqing City, Heilongjiang Province, Mr. Wu Zunyou delivered a speech for the conference, introducing the development trend of AIDS in China and the serious threat posed by AIDS to young people.

On December 25, 2014, Mr. Wu Zunyou and Ms. Zhang Yinjun jointly visited Zhang Wenkang, former Minister of the Ministry of Health and President of the China Sexually Transmitted Diseases and AIDS Prevention and Control Association. They once again highlighted the annual increase of teenagers affected with AIDS and suggested that schools have become the main battleground for AIDS prevention and that Changier Hutton has pioneered a new model for AIDS prevention, so it should be supported and promoted.

On February 8, 2015, the First Symposium on China Youth AIDS Prevention Education was held in the hall of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in Beijing. Mr. Wu Zunyou, on behalf of the AIDS prevention expert group, gave a keynote speech on "Integrating AIDS with Sex Education". He emphasized the cultural factors in the transmission of AIDS, analyzed the subjective and objective factors of AIDS infection among homosexual college students in China, and called on the medical, health and sex education sectors to pay attention to research and to introduce effective response measures based on the research.

December 1, 2015 marked the 28th World AIDS Day with the theme "How far are we from AIDS", Mr. Wu Zunyou and Ms. Zhang Yinjun discussed the issues faced by China in AIDS prevention and control, especially issues related to AIDS prevention and education among adolescents, in a public welfare interview with IFENG.COM. Mr. Wu Zunyou once again emphasized the importance of addressing the continuous rise in AIDS infection rates among the homosexual male population, with special attention needed for adolescents, particularly adolescent students. He said, "To ultimately defeat AIDS, it is essential to block the sexual transmission route of AIDS. Sex education is particularly important. If we can teach children concepts of sexual physiology, sexual perceptions, and sexual morality from childhood, it will be very helpful for them to engage in responsible sexual behavior in the future". He praised the Beijing Changier Education Foundation as a social organization for its important role in the prevention of AIDS among adolescents, especially many selfless volunteers who have dedicated their entire lives and energy to the work of adolescent AIDS and sex health education, which is very respectable.

On December 1, 2016, the 29th World AIDS Day, Mr. Wu Zunyou attended the charity concert called "Preventing and Controlling AIDS with Love • Lighting up Life with Music" held by APEPCY at Peking University. He recognized and supported innovative methods such as holding concerts in universities for AIDS prevention publicity and establishing the "Peking University Campus AIDS Prevention Alliance". Mr. Wu Zunyou stated that the education of AIDS prevention among university students is of utmost urgency. Calling for care for people infected with AIDS, attention to AIDS prevention education, and support from all sectors of society for adolescent AIDS prevention work through concerts appreciated by students has achieved good results.

On June 20, 2018, Mr. Wu Zunyou and Ms. Zhang Yinjun jointly attended a meeting organized by relevant agencies of the United Nations in Beijing. They had in-depth discussions with Mr. Sidibé, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, Executive Director of UNAIDS and Foreign Director of APEPCY, on expanding AIDS prevention education for adolescents, deepening AIDS prevention, and strengthening the training of relevant professionals. They also analyzed and discussed how to achieve the United Nations' goal of "zero AIDS-related deaths" by 2030.

Since 2012, APEPCY has piloted the Changier Hut Project in Yingjiang County, Yunnan, forming the unique "APEPCY Yingjiang Model". In 2019, Mr. Wu Zunyou, Ms. Zhang Yinjun, along with the responsible officials from the Health Commission of Yunnan Province and Yunnan Association of STD&AIDS Prevention and Control, held a special seminar at the Central Committee of the China Association for Promoting Democracy to jointly study the AIDS prevention and control plan in Yunnan Province and participate in the revision of the Regulation of Yunnan Province on AIDS Prevention and Control (Revised Draft).

As the chief epidemiologist of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, he fought on the frontline of COVID-19 prevention and control for three years. However, Wu Zunyou humbly and modestly stated, "Many people have done much more than I have. They work on the frontline, and some even have lost their lives."

Even during the busiest period of COVID-19, Mr. Wu Zunyou still supported APEPCY's promotion work of AIDS prevention. When he learned that the children from Linfen Red Ribbon School could not return home for the Lunar New Year, he specially recorded a video for the children who stayed at school for the Lunar New Year, in which he told them that "a happy year comes as long as there is love". He also actively joined APEPCY's monthly donation program and gave red envelopes to the children. When he learned that during COVID-19, Beijing Changier Education Foundation leveraged its professional knowledge and skills, resources, and information and called for all bases, workstations, individuals and enterprises to actively donate money and goods, especially when Guangzhou Rongli Biotechnology Co., Ltd. donated more than 130,000 sets of "Tongbaobao" health kits valuing RMB 20 million, he took time while fully engaged to record a video for the charity event titled "Love Health, Love Future - Campus Tour on Education of Love" held by Beijing Changier Education Foundation, calling for more people to join in and help with COVID-19 prevention in campus.

Despite suffering from serious illness, Mr. Wu Zunyou never stopped thinking about the future of disease control and prevention in China. He continued to guide and care for the training of public health personnel in China, hoping for successors in the field of infectious disease prevention and control. He battled cancer for two years, demonstrating strength, dedication, and optimism. Chairman Zhang Yinjun and colleagues at APEPCY feel the deepest grief about his death.

The development of APEPCY over the past 20 years could not have been achieved without the substantial assistance of Mr. Wu Zunyou. He did it because of his passion for AIDS prevention and his care for young students. He once said in an interview, "For disease control personnel, the better a person working in the epidemic prevention does, the less visible his achievements are. Because the better he does, the fewer patients there will be; and the less visible you are in the society". I do it not for individual gain, but for the benefit of the nation and the people. For the future of public health in China, he chose to be invisible.

The past is still vivid in our minds; though he passed away, his love remains forever! May Mr. Wu Zunyou rest in peace!