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Wang's wife asks 'What have we done to deserve this treatment?'

By WFIU/WTIU News Staff

Posted April 15, 2025

Nianli Ma speaks over Zoom at the April 14, 2025 Asian American Scholar Forum: "State of Play Town Hall" in her first public appearance since IU fired her.

Nianli Ma speaks over Zoom Monday at the Asian American Scholar Forum: "State of Play Town Hall." (Courtesy photo via Zoom, Asian American Scholar Forum)

In her first public appearance since she and her husband were fired from Indiana University — and their homes were searched by the FBI — Nianli Ma said they are “loyal Chinese-Americans and lawful immigrants.”

Speaking on Monday at a virtual town hall about the political climate for Asian-American scholars, Ma said she has lost weight and had trouble sleeping.

On March 28, IU fired Ma’s husband, renowned computer security professor XiaoFeng Wang, and FBI agents carried out search warrants at their homes in Bloomington and Carmel. Wang was fired for what a colleague said was an allegation of failing to report research funding from China in 2017.

Days earlier, IU fired Ma, a systems analyst and programmer for IU libraries.

“I just can't understand how the university to which we dedicated over two decades of our lives could treat us like this without even telling us why or going through due process,” she said. “Yes, especially for my husband, who is a tenured professor, it hurts deeply that a country we trusted and contributed to for so long now treat us like criminals.

“I feel trapped in a constant state of worry and sadness. What have we done to deserve this treatment? We are just desperately seeking answers."

The Bloomington chapter of the American Association of University Professors said IU violated its policy by not giving Wang, a tenured professor, 10 days’ notice and a hearing.

Ma said she and her husband moved to the United States 26 years ago, starting in Pittsburgh and then Bloomington.

“Every time I walk into my husband's home office and see him proudly cover the walls and his shelves with the certificates and trophies of my son, I'm reminded of the loving home we have created and all the sweet moments we have had here,” Ma said.

Their son, Luke Wang, is raising money online for his parents’ defense.

“I was born in Indiana, and for my entire life, I have been a proud Hoosier,” he says on the GoFundMe page. “This country is all that I have known and I grew up believing in the U.S. justice system.”

He added, “We are struggling to comprehend what we have done to be treated as criminals by the country which my parents have contributed to for nearly three decades. With both of my parents unemployed and Indiana University having no explanation for their termination, we have begun to face financial challenges, particularly with heavy legal expenses and even more uncertain costs ahead.”

Ma thanked people for their support.

“Our family is determined to fight, not only for ourselves, but for the broader research community who would be impacted if these types of allegations go unchallenged.”