Scholarship to commemorate ALS student

A university in Chongqing recently set up a scholarship in the name of a student who died of a motor neuron disease to encourage young people to learn from his fighting spirit. Deng Xiansong, 22, who began studying economics at Southwest University of Political Science and Law in 2021, died in April due to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a rare, incurable neurodegenerative disorder often referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease. "Deng remained strong and faced the possibility of sudden death with a smile, never giving up on his pursuit of academic excellence," the president of the university, Lin Wei, said at its graduation ceremony late last month. "The university will never give up on, nor forget, any student who loves life and strives for excellence," Lin said.