Nearly a month after Danhao Wang, a Chinese researcher at the University of Michigan, died following “hostile questioning” by the US, has now called for a ‘thorough investigation’ into his death.
Wang, an assistant research scientist in the university’s electrical and computer engineering department, reportedly died on 20 March after falling from the campus building.
Who was Danhao Wang?
Wang was an electrical and computer engineering research assistant at the University of Michigan. According to his LinkedIn profile, he listed himself as a postdoctoral research fellow who had been at the since August 2022.
Before that, Wang spent nearly five years at the University of Science and Technology of China. He earned a PhD in electrical and electronics engineering. According to ResearchGate, Wang’s work appeared 112 times in publications. According to the platform, Wang’s research spanned electrical engineering, materials science, chemistry, and photonics. He worked on the study and development of materials, with a particular focus on III-nitride thin films and nanostructures used in advanced electronic and optoelectronic devices.
What did the US say about Wang’s death?
The Michigan Daily reported that the Division of Public Safety and Security of the University of Michigan is investigating his death as a “possible act of self-harm.” As per reports, the Chinese researcher had been questioned by the ‘ law enforcement regarding his research shortly before his death.
According to a statement from the Division of Public Safety and Security, “On March 19, at approximately 11:00 p.m., officers from the University of Michigan Police Department responded to a report of a subject who fell inside the George G. Brown Building.” It added, “A faculty research assistant was found after falling from an upper level and was later pronounced deceased.”
China’s response to Wang’s death
While the US officials say that the incident will be investigated as an act of possible self-harm, Beijing has called for a thorough investigation. A report published in Xinhua on 27 March, Lin Jian, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, urged the US to investigate the incident. Without naming Wang, Jian referred to him as a “Chinese postdoctoral scholar, who took his own life a day after being subjected to hostile questioning by US law enforcement personnel.”
In a post on X, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson described the incident as “hostile.” Slamming the US over interrogation and harassment, he wrote, “The heartbreaking death of a Chinese postdoctoral scholar, who took his own life after being subjected to hostile questioning by US law enforcement personnel, calls into question once again the impact and legitimacy of unwarranted US interrogation and harassment targeting Chinese researchers and students.”
Separately, in a post on X, the Chinese Consulate in Chicago slammed Washington for “groundlessly” interrogating Chinese students and scholars. It wrote, “China solemnly calls on the US to carry out a full investigation, give the family of the victim and the Chinese side a responsible explanation, stop any discriminatory law enforcement targeting Chinese students and scholars in the U.S., and stop imposing wrongful convictions.”
The questioning comes at a time of heightened scrutiny towards the Chinese students and scholars in the US, who are reportedly becoming the target of the federal government over alleged national security concerns. The Michigan Daily, citing critics, said that the government’s actions have been described as xenophobic, arguing that they have selectively highlighted the actions of a small number of individuals to paint all Chinese nationals in a suspicious light.
