A Chinese doctor was apprehended in Texas for allegedly attempting to smuggle cancer research data to China. Yunhai Li, 35, has worked at MD Anderson Cancer Center since 2022 and was confronted by a US Customs Border Protection officer at the airport on July 9.
The Harris County District Attorney’s Office stated that, during a routine search of his possessions, authorities found evidence suggesting that Li was trying to transfer sensitive medical information abroad. “We managed to detain him because he was on the verge of boarding a flight to China,” said Harris County District Attorney Sean Tier, emphasizing the importance of keeping such intellectual property within the country to help save lives.
Li faces charges of theft of trade secrets and tampering with government records. The theft charges could result in a prison sentence of 2-10 years and potential fines up to $10,000.
Reportedly, Li was in the U.S. on a non-immigrant research scholar exchange visa provided by the State Department. His research was allegedly funded by both the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense. Court documents indicated that while employed at MD Anderson, he uploaded sensitive information to his Google Drive account, and when confronted about it, he deleted the files. Furthermore, investigators found that he had stored data on Chinese servers.
Reports indicated that his storage contained “unpublished research data and trade secrets.” Notably, Li had also secured grants from the China National Natural Science Foundation and had conducted research in China before and after his time at MD Anderson, without disclosing any potential conflicts of interest to U.S. employers. In a court statement, he asserted, “I believe I have the right to own and retain this data.”
Li has posted a $5,100 bail and is no longer in custody, but he has surrendered his passport.
