To: President Domenico Grasso, the University of Michigan Board of Regents, and the Office of International Affairs
We are writing to express our deep concern and outrage at the University of Michigan’s silence in the face of escalating persecution against Chinese students and scholars. In May, Secretary of State Marco Rubio vowed to “aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students.” In the months since, we have witnessed a sweeping, discriminatory crackdown on Chinese academics across the U.S., with countless visa revocations, detentions, and surveillance justified solely by national origin. Rubio even boasted, “Every time I find one of these lunatics, I take away their visa.” This is not about national security. It is racial profiling that feeds into a broader campaign to demonize China and pave the way to war.
Recently, two Chinese postdoctoral researchers affiliated with the University of Michigan were targeted. Dr. Yunqing Jian was arrested for importing Fusarium graminearum, a common fungus, and was branded an “agroterrorist.” While she may have mishandled protocol, the charge of conspiracy to commit agricultural terrorism is wildly disproportionate and deeply politicized. Experts have noted that the fungus is already widespread in North America and is not a credible threat. It is clear that the case is being mishandled and blown out of proportion due to the proliferation of anti-China and anti-Chinese sentiment.
Another researcher affiliated with the University of Michigan, Chengxuan Han, was arrested for sending roundworms through the mail, something many speculate she did not know she needed a permit for. Han’s case follows the same disturbing pattern: suspicion merely because she is Chinese, exaggerated charges, and devastating consequences for a promising young scholar. Like so many others, her life and career have been derailed by a climate of anti-China fear and government overreach.
Now, three more scholars have been detained by ICE as they attempted to fly home to China. The University has not only remained silent, but has actively helped ICE and other federal agencies in their ongoing persecution. This is absolutely outrageous! The university's role is to protect its students, not to ruin their lives.
All of these cases are part of a years-long pattern of suspicion and surveillance targeting Chinese academics in the U.S. Under the now-defunct “China Initiative,” dozens of Chinese and Chinese American researchers were falsely accused of espionage, their careers destroyed by baseless investigations and racial profiling.
In 2024, Jane Wu, a postdoctoral scholar at Northwestern University, took her own life after being falsely accused of spying. Despite being cleared of all allegations, she was forced into a psychiatric facility, lost her lab, and was abandoned by her university. Her family is now suing Northwestern for the discrimination and institutional abuse that led to her death. Her story is a warning to all U.S. universities: your silence is complicity.
The University of Michigan has a duty of care to its international students and scholars, especially in the face of racialized persecution by the federal government.
We, the undersigned, demand that the University of Michigan:
- Publicly condemn the racial profiling and unjust targeting of Chinese students and researchers.
- Provide legal and mental health support for all affected scholars.
- Implement protections and policies that defend international students from discriminatory government actions.
-
Reject participation in xenophobic investigations that harm the university’s academic integrity and global reputation.
Universities should be places of learning and sanctuary, not tools of empire. If the University of Michigan fails to act, it will be remembered not for courage or leadership, but for its complicity in the ongoing shameful campaign of racism, fear, and escalation to war against China.
Stand up. Speak out. Protect your Chinese students and scholars.
Onward to peace,