US report conceals details of DHS conversation with researcher Wang Danhao — South China Morning Post
In the United States, a 39-page report by the University of Michigan police on the death of 31-year-old Chinese semiconductor researcher Wang Danhao contains significant redactions. The document does not make clear why employees of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spoke with the scientist a day before his death or what exactly was discussed.
According to the South China Morning Post, on the morning of March 18, Wang spoke for about 10 minutes with two DHS employees near his rented accommodation in Ann Arbor. Due to the cold weather, one of them suggested ending the conversation, but the researcher proposed continuing it at a nearby coffee shop. There, the conversation lasted for about another 30 minutes.
Redacted sections of the report
The police report does not name the federal employees, the reasons for their contact with Wang, or the content of the conversation. The final timeline for March 18 contains two timestamps — 8:44 and 11:42 — but information about events at those times has been redacted.
After Wang's death on March 19, police found a Homeland Security business card in his backpack and a separate sheet bearing the words “Customs + Border Protection” and an official's surname. It is impossible to identify these employees from the report.
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Further DHS actions
Attorney Minwei Yan, who is handling Wang's estate case, said that the large volume of redacted information has left the family with almost no answers. He is considering challenging the document's redactions to obtain more information.
Shortly before his death, Wang told a colleague that attorney John Minock had assured him that the federal questioning was not a serious matter. Police found no suicide note, and an initial review of text messages found no signs of suicidal intentions, depression, or severe stress.
On March 20, university police contacted DHS regarding possible further interviews of witnesses and university employees. The agency later obtained a warrant to search and seize Wang's phone, laptop, USB drive, and portable hard drive.
Before his death, the scientist had received a teaching position at the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei and planned to return to China in May. Karen Thole, dean of the University of Michigan's College of Engineering, described his semiconductor research, published in the journal Nature, as groundbreaking.
