5 - Health Researcher and Ohio State Professor Connected to Thousand Talents Plan

Song Guo Zheng, a professor of rheumatology at The Ohio State University, used around 1.4 million in grant funding from the National Institute of Health to perform research he intended to take with him to China. He was interdicted and arrested on a flight May 22, 2020 in Alaska while it was on a layover before it was intended to travel to China. In addition to the misuse of government funds, he was charged with making false statements about being employed by Chinese universities at the same time he was researching at American universities.

The investigation revealed that Song Guo Zheng had been connected to the Thousand Talent Plan and that he only prepared to flee the country after he became aware of an internal investigation begun by his employer. According to the report, Zheng had been funneling his research into the PRC since 2013.