Chinese semiconductor researcher Wang Danhao ended his life in March on the University of Michigan campus in the US. Wang's death occurred immediately after questioning by US federal law enforcement. Liu Pengyu, spokesperson for China's Washington Embassy, confirmed Wang's suicide in an email to the South China Morning Post and criticized the US's excessive and discriminatory practices against Chinese students and academics on national security grounds. Liu demanded that the US government conduct a comprehensive investigation, provide a responsible explanation to Wang's family and the Chinese side, and end discriminatory practices.
Wang Danhao had been working as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Michigan's College of Engineering since 2022. On the night of March 19, he died after falling in the George G. Brown Building on the university campus. University police responded to the scene and announced Wang's death. The Chinese embassy was in contact with Wang's family and offered support.
Wang had conducted significant research in the field of semiconductors, focusing especially on developing advanced electronic and optoelectronic devices using AlGaN materials. His research was cited approximately 4,000 times internationally. Increasing pressure and investigations against Chinese scientists in the US became a topic of renewed discussion following Wang's death. Some sources claimed that US authorities prevented Wang from leaving the country and that federal agents surrounded the building during questioning, but these claims have not been independently verified.
Investigations into Chinese scientists in the US have been ongoing since the early 2010s. The China Initiative program, launched in 2018, targeted economic espionage allegations but ended in 2022. During the program, many scientists were unjustly investigated and their careers adversely affected. Wang's death brought the impact of such practices on scientists back into focus.
This tragic event caused concern among Chinese academics and students, while the Chinese embassy called on the US to end discriminatory practices. The situation of Chinese scientists in the US and the practices carried out on national security grounds continue to be closely monitored by the international scientific community.
