Foreign Researchers Accused of Hiding Links to Chinese Military

Four Chinese nationals have been charged with visa fraud after revelations that they sent information on the layout of US labs and research carried out by colleagues back to China.

Written byAmanda Heidt
| 3 min read
DOJ, Department of Justice, FBI, Federal Bureau of Investigation, China, intellectual property, visa fraud, People's Liberation Army

Register for free to listen to this article
Listen with Speechify
0:00
3:00
Share

ABOVE: © ISTOCK.COM, DORADALTON

Update (July 27): Juan Tang has since been taken into custody by the US Marshals Service and will be appearing in court today to face charges of alleged visa fraud, the Associated Press reports.

Three Chinese nationals working in research laboratories in California and Indiana have been arrested and charged with lying about their affiliations to the Chinese military, while a fourth person has sought refuge inside the Chinese consulate in San Francisco in an attempt to avoid arrest.

Kaikai Zhao, a graduate student at Indiana University studying artificial intelligence; Juan Tang, a visiting cancer researcher at the University of California (UC), Davis; Xin Wang, a visiting researcher at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF); and Chen Song, a visiting neurologist at Stanford University, are all alleged to have supplied false information when applying for visas to travel to the US for work. Zhao and ...

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of

The Scientist Logo
Receive full access to more than 35 years of archives, as well as TS Digest, digital editions of The Scientist, feature stories, and much more!
Already a member? Login Here

Related Topics

Meet the Author

  • amanda heidt

    Amanda first began dabbling in scicom as a master’s student studying marine science at Moss Landing Marine Labs, where she edited the student blog and interned at a local NPR station. She enjoyed that process of demystifying science so much that after receiving her degree in 2019, she went straight into a second master’s program in science communication at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Formerly an intern at The Scientist, Amanda joined the team as a staff reporter and editor in 2021 and oversaw the publication’s internship program, assigned and edited the Foundations, Scientist to Watch, and Short Lit columns, and contributed original reporting across the publication. Amanda’s stories often focus on issues of equity and representation in academia, and she brings this same commitment to DEI to the Science Writers Association of the Rocky Mountains and to the board of the National Association of Science Writers, which she has served on since 2022. She is currently based in the outdoor playground that is Moab, Utah. Read more of her work at www.amandaheidt.com.

    View Full Profile
Share
February 2026

A Stubborn Gene, a Failed Experiment, and a New Path

When experiments refuse to cooperate, you try again and again. For Rafael Najmanovich, the setbacks ultimately pushed him in a new direction.

View this Issue
Human-Relevant In Vitro Models Enable Predictive Drug Discovery

Advancing Drug Discovery with Complex Human In Vitro Models

Stemcell Technologies
Redefining Immunology Through Advanced Technologies

Redefining Immunology Through Advanced Technologies

Ensuring Regulatory Compliance in AAV Manufacturing with Analytical Ultracentrifugation

Ensuring Regulatory Compliance in AAV Manufacturing with Analytical Ultracentrifugation

Beckman Coulter Logo
Conceptual multicolored vector image of cancer research, depicting various biomedical approaches to cancer therapy

Maximizing Cancer Research Model Systems

bioxcell

Products

Sino Biological Logo

Sino Biological Pioneers Life Sciences Innovation with High-Quality Bioreagents on Inside Business Today with Bill and Guiliana Rancic

Sino Biological Logo

Sino Biological Expands Research Reagent Portfolio to Support Global Nipah Virus Vaccine and Diagnostic Development

Beckman Coulter

Beckman Coulter Life Sciences Partners with Automata to Accelerate AI-Ready Laboratory Automation

Refeyn logo

Refeyn named in the Sunday Times 100 Tech list of the UK’s fastest-growing technology companies