Chinese Researcher Dies at U-M; China Cites U.S. Questioning

Danhao Wang, a Chinese postdoctoral researcher at the University of Michigan, died after falling from an upper level of a campus building in Ann Arbor last month, prompting allegations from Chinese officials that he had been questioned by U.S. law enforcement the previous day.

University police responded to the George G. Brown Building around 11 p.m. on March 19 to a report of a person who had fallen. Officers found Wang, an assistant research scientist in the College of Engineering, and he was later pronounced dead at a hospital. Melissa Overton, deputy chief of the university's Division of Public Safety and Security, said the incident is under investigation as a possible act of self-harm, with no indication of foul play or threat to others. An autopsy has been requested, but authorities have released few additional details due to the ongoing probe.

Chinese diplomatic officials have linked Wang's death to what they describe as harassment by U.S. authorities. In a statement on March 30, the Chinese Consulate General in Chicago said a scholar died "the day after being questioned by U.S. law enforcement personnel." The consulate, acting on instructions from Beijing, protested to...