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University of Michigan Under Federal Fire After Shocking Arrests

University of Michigan Under Federal Fire After Shocking Arrests

Two Chinese researchers with ties to the University of Michigan have been accused with importing biological materials into the US, putting the institution under federal investigation.

On Tuesday, the university’s foreign money was the subject of an inquiry by the Education Department, which cited two examples that were publicized in June, just days apart. There was talk of “highly disturbing criminal charges” that put Michigan at risk of Chinese national security threats.

According to Paul Moore, chief investigative counsel of the department, “recent reports reveal that UM’s research laboratories remain vulnerable to sabotage,” even though the University of Michigan has downplayed its vulnerabilities to malicious foreign interference in the past.



Foreign donations and contracts to American institutions, particularly those associated with China, have been a focus of President Trump’s efforts to promote openness. University of Pennsylvania, Harvard, and University of California, Berkeley have all launched similar projects.

This follows Republican calls from within Congress for academic institutions to sever research links with China on the grounds that Beijing uses these partnerships to steal intellectual property. After receiving criticism from House Republicans who deemed the relationship with a Shanghai university a security issue, Michigan severed ties with the institution in January.

The latest probe is looking for Michigan financial records as well as details on research partnerships with non-US schools. The state of Michigan is facing accusations from the Education Department, who contend that the state’s public disclosures on its funding from foreign sources are “incomplete, inaccurate and untimely.”

Following the FBI’s announcement that it had blocked the couple’s attempt to import a harmful fungus into the US, federal officials proceeded to file charges against the Chinese scientist and his girlfriend in June. The woman was employed by the University of Michigan lab.

Authorities detained a Chinese scientist on his way to the United States a few days later on suspicion of transferring biological samples to a University of Michigan lab.

The institution initiated a review of research security standards in June and stated its condemnation of any activities that compromise national security.

The Education Department recently sent a letter to the college in which it claimed that certain faculty members had minimized the risk associated with research partnerships with Chinese universities. Ann Chih Lin, who has claimed publicly that the risk of technology theft from China is exaggerated, is singled out as the director of the university’s Center for Chinese Studies.

Department of Education officials expressed their alarm at Lin’s apparent lack of regard for the national security concerns of the American taxpayer, who provides the majority of financing for UM’s yearly research expenses.

Whenever a university receives $250,000 or more in donations or contracts from outside sources, they are required by federal law to disclose this information. Under Trump’s first term, the Education Department launched twelve investigations against colleges that were believed to have underreported their foreign funding, thus bringing the law out of oblivion. Most of those cases were closed by the Biden administration, but there has been a recent resurgence of the attempt.

Although there is a need to strengthen research security, some American colleges are wary of belittling Chinese scientists because of the tiny number of cases where they have been implicated in espionage.

House Republicans revealed last year that hundreds of millions of dollars in US money had gone into studies that helped China develop nuclear weapons, artificial intelligence, and semiconductor technology.

When it comes to international students studying in the United States, China ranks second, just behind India. More than 270,000 Chinese students studied in the US in the 2023–24 school year, representing almost 25% of all international students.



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