【By Guancha Observer, Liu Chenghui】
"The country we have trusted and devoted ourselves to for so long now treats us as criminals, which is heartbreaking!" At an event on April 14, Ma Nilu (translated name), the wife of Wang Xiaofeng, a renowned Chinese-American professor at Indiana University, made such accusations.
Currently, Ma Nilu is raising funds to counterattack through legal means.
Wang Xiaofeng is a top scholar in cryptography, privacy, and cybersecurity. On March 28, his residence was raided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and he was unjustly dismissed by the university, after which he went missing until today. The U.S. side remains tight-lipped about the reasons for this action.
According to previous reports from media sources, this case involves a research grant related to China that Wang Xiaofeng accepted in 2017. In the face of the FBI's opaque operations, skepticism and concerns from the American academic community and media are growing—has the notorious "China Initiative" been revived?
American renowned Chinese-American professor Wang Xiaofeng Social media
According to Hong Kong-based English-language media South China Morning Post, Ma Nilu made her first public statement regarding the incident at an online forum hosted by the Asian American Scholars Forum (AASF) on April 14, attended by hundreds of people.
Ma Nilu, previously a system analyst at Indiana University Library, was also dismissed by the university when she and her husband were suddenly caught in this incident. She questioned the university's practice of dismissing them without following proper procedures, describing it as "extremely devastating."
Ma Nilu said these sudden events have dealt a heavy blow to her family. She mentioned she has lost weight and now finds it difficult to sleep.
"Every morning when I wake up, I feel like this must be a nightmare," she said. "I just don't understand how the university we've dedicated over twenty years to could treat us this way—without even telling us the reason or going through due process."
"Especially my husband, who is a tenured professor!"
Ma Nilu stated that they are determined to fight back, and their son Luke Zhang has initiated a GoFundMe fundraising campaign to cover legal costs.
She recalled the scene 26 years ago when she and Wang Xiaofeng moved to the United States to pursue the "American Dream."
"Every time I enter my husband's home office and see him proudly displaying his son's certificates and trophies on the walls and bookshelves, I think of the warm family we built and all the wonderful times we spent here," she said.
She said they have become the latest victims of government search warrants and baseless allegations of academic misconduct—this ordeal mirrors the trauma caused by the "China Initiative."
"It breaks my heart that the country we trusted and devoted ourselves to for so long now treats us as criminals," Ma Nilu asked. "What did we do wrong to deserve this treatment? We are just desperately seeking answers."
Carl Weinberg, a teaching professor at Indiana University College of Arts and Sciences, told the South China Morning Post that in the U.S., tenured faculty members have the right to due process when facing dismissal.
"According to Indiana University’s regulations, where he worked for 20 years, he had the right to receive 10 days' notice and a hearing before the Faculty Review Committee. The university administration deprived him of these rights," Weinberg said.
When Weinberg and other faculty members pressured the school for an explanation, they were told to inquire with the FBI.
"This is outrageous!" Weinberg said. "I am glad to hear that Wang Xiaofeng's wife, Ma Nilu, says they will fight against this injustice, as she was also dismissed without any reason."
That day, Gang Chen, a mechanical engineering professor at MIT who was arrested due to the "China Initiative," also attended the forum.
He said at the meeting that Indiana University conducted a "guilty unless proven innocent" approach in Wang Xiaofeng's case.
He said, "Needless to say, these investigations have caused tremendous panic among Chinese researchers, from professors to students and postdoctoral fellows."
Chen also signed a public letter drafted by the Asian American Scholars Forum, calling on the leadership of Indiana University to restore Wang Xiaofeng's position, grant him due process rights, and provide him with opportunities to defend himself.
Event Recap
Wang Xiaofeng, a professor at Indiana University Bloomington's Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering, is one of the most renowned scholars in the field of computer security. He is also a Fellow of IEEE, ACM, and AAAS, and served as the chair of ACM SIGSAC. His ranking in the CS directory of computer security is world-first, and the number of papers he published at the top four conferences in security is also the highest in the world.
On March 28, the FBI raided the residences of Wang Xiaofeng and his wife Ma Nilu in Bloomington and Carmel, removing multiple boxes of "evidence." Wired magazine revealed that no documents related to Wang Xiaofeng's couple or this raid were found in the federal court records.
FBI raids Wang Xiaofeng's couple's residence on March 28
The Indiana University chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) stated that the university dismissed Wang Xiaofeng on the same day as the FBI raid. The university also removed Wang Xiaofeng's personal information from its website. Regarding his wife Ma Nilu, who works as a chief systems analyst and programmer at the university library, her records were also erased.
Alex Tanford, a law professor at Indiana University and chairman of the union branch, told CNBC on March 31 that in early March, Wang Xiaofeng had contacted him voluntarily, mentioning that the university was reviewing his grant application. Wang Xiaofeng was then restricted from entering his office and using campus computers.
On March 28, Wang Xiaofeng informed Tanford via a brief email: "I have been dismissed." Tanford said that the university's dismissal letter did not specify any reasons.
Soon after, FBI agents appeared at Wang Xiaofeng's residence. However, neither the FBI nor the university provided valid reasons for the raid or the dismissal.
Archived web pages show that Wang Xiaofeng joined Indiana University in 2004 and was a professor at the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering before being dismissed. His main research areas were system security and data privacy, particularly concerning mobile communications, cloud computing, and human genome security. During his tenure at the university, he led research projects that received nearly $23 million in funding, and he served as the director of the university's Center for Security and Privacy. Ma Nilu was the chief systems analyst and programmer at the university library.
On March 31, the American Association of University Professors sent a letter to Indiana University expressing dissatisfaction. They demanded that the university reinstate Wang Xiaofeng and criticized the school for dismissing him without undergoing "the highest level of review procedures."
A Chinese researcher told the South China Morning Post on April 2 that Wang Xiaofeng's current situation is "safe." According to an undated statement from Wang Xiaofeng's colleagues, his investigation is related to his failure to disclose a Chinese grant he received between 2017 and 2018.
An anonymous Chinese biologist working at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) expressed that Wang Xiaofeng's experience has left many American-Chinese scientists feeling anxious.
A founder of a Chinese biotech startup who wished to remain anonymous also said that although Wang Xiaofeng's case may be an isolated incident, it will have a significant impact on Chinese scientists, and even other immigrants to the U.S. He predicted that in the future, people working in sensitive fields such as artificial intelligence, computer science, and semiconductors, or even those involved in biology and medicine, may become targets of investigation.
On March 27, Nature magazine announced poll results showing that more than 75% of over 1600 surveyed researchers are considering leaving the U.S.
This article is an exclusive piece by Guancha Observer and cannot be reprinted without permission.
Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7493737167944942121/
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