Beijing is demanding an investigation into a Chinese researcher’s death at the University of Michigan last month.
Danhao Wang, an assistant research scientist in the university’s electrical and computer engineering department, died on 20 March after reportedly falling from a campus building.
American authorities said they were investigating the death as a “possible act of self-harm”.
However, the case has drawn a strong reaction from Beijing.
According to Chinese media, Wang had been questioned by US law enforcement about his research shortly before his death, describing the interaction as “hostile questioning”.
The Chinese foreign ministry said it was “deeply saddened by the heartbreaking death”. “For some time now, the US has overstretched the concept of national security for political manipulation and groundlessly interrogated and harassed Chinese scholars and students,” spokesperson Lin Jian said, adding that Beijing had “protested to the US”.
“These moves infringe on Chinese citizens’ legitimate and lawful rights and interests, poison the atmosphere of people-to-people and cultural exchanges between China and the US and create a serious chilling effect,” the spokesperson said. “China 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 scholars and students in the US, and stop imposing wrongful convictions.”
US authorities have not confirmed whether Wang was under investigation.
The FBI said that it followed a longstanding policy of neither confirming nor denying “the existence of any investigation or investigative activity involving specific individuals”.
In a message to the academic community, University of Michigan engineering dean Karen Thole described Wang as “promising and brilliant young mind”.
Statement by the Spokesperson of the Chinese Consulate General in Chicago on Media Inquiries Regarding the Case of A Chinese Scholar Who Took His Own Life After Being Questioned by U.S. Law Enforcement Personnel
— ChinaConsulateChicago (@ChinaConsulate) March 31, 2026
Q: It is understood that recently a Chinese scholar tragically took…
Megan Russell, China campaign coordinator at CODEPINK, a feminist grassroots organisation, told CBS News that the researcher’s death was “not an isolated incident”.
“If this was an isolated incident of self-harm for reasons outside the responsibility of the University of Michigan, that is one thing. But this is not,” she said.
In a statement on their website, the group said: “Chinese scholars in the US are facing increasing persecution, surveillance, and unjust arrests simply for being Chinese. The University of Michigan has not only remained silent, but has actively aided federal agencies in its ongoing persecution of Chinese scholars.”
Wang’s death comes amid the Donald Trump administration’s scrutiny of alleged Chinese influence at educational institutions in the US. The University of Michigan came under scrutiny last year after three Chinese nationals linked to it were charged by the FBI with attempting to smuggle biological materials into the US.
“Despite the University of Michigan’s history of downplaying its vulnerabilities to malign foreign influence, recent reports reveal that UM’s research laboratories remain vulnerable to sabotage,” Paul Moore, chief investigative counsel for the education department, said at the time.
Similar investigations have been initiated at Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of California, Berkeley.
There have been calls from Republicans in Congress for universities to sever research ties with China, alleging exploitation for technology theft. The University of Michigan ended a partnership with a Shanghai university last year amid pressure from Republican lawmakers who deemed it a security risk.
“This incident is contextual to a larger climate of fear felt by immigrant workers from all industries, home countries, and walks of life under the current administration,” Nick Geiser, an organiser with the University of Michigan Postdoctoral Researchers Organization, a group representing 15,000 researchers at the university, said in a statement, referring to Wang’s death.
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