The wife of Xiaofeng Wang, a former data privacy professor at Indiana University, Bloomington (IU), has voiced her belief that her family has been unfairly targeted by the U.S. government. Wang was dismissed from his tenured position on the same day that FBI searches were conducted at their residences last month. Nianli Ma, Wang’s wife, described the situation as a case of “misplaced accusations of academic misconduct.”
Ma emphasized their determination to contest these allegations not just for their own sake but also for the broader research community that might be affected if such claims remain unchallenged. This was her first public statement since the FBI’s search activities in late March. Ma, who was employed as a library analyst at the university, was also dismissed from her position shortly before the FBI conducted searches at two of the couple’s homes, as reported by The Indiana Daily Student.
Expressing her frustration, Ma questioned IU’s decision to terminate their positions without proper explanation or due process, especially in her husband’s case. She shared that these events have significantly impacted her well-being, leading to weight loss and sleep difficulties, and expressed feeling trapped in worry and sadness.
Wang’s situation has raised alarm among academics, suggesting a possible revival of the China Initiative, a program by the Department of Justice launched during President Trump’s tenure aimed at addressing economic espionage. Critics argued the initiative unfairly targeted Chinese-born researchers and members of the Asian-immigrant and Asian-American academic communities. The program was eventually discontinued under the Biden administration following several withdrawn or lost cases.
Among the notable cases was that of MIT professor Gang Chen, charged under the China Initiative in 2021 for allegedly failing to disclose ties to Chinese institutions in grant applications. The charges were dropped the following year when it was determined that such disclosures were not mandated by the federal government. Chen commented on Ma’s situation during a webinar, expressing concern that the China Initiative might be resurfacing.
At the same webinar, Brian Sun, a member of the Asian American Scholar Forum’s legal advisory council, noted a lack of evidence in Wang’s case indicating any unlawful transfer of technology or issues related to the concerns that initiated the China Initiative.
US Representative Grace Meng of New York, who delivered a keynote address at the event, expressed apprehension regarding efforts by the current U.S. administration to reinstate the China Initiative. Meng criticized the initiative for failing to adequately address national security issues while creating a chilling effect on research and scientific progress, as well as devastating the lives of those wrongly accused.
