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Edith Mao

It was a golden opportunity for academic exchange when Chinese mathematician Hong Wang, a contender for a top award, gave lectures at universities in Beijing last month, but instead her overseas experience and use of English made her an unexpected victim of rising nationalism in China.
The 34-year-old mathematician earned global attention last year when a paper she co-authored solved the three-dimensional Kakeya conjecture – a century-old problem in geometric measure theory.
The study, with implications for imaging, data processing, cryptography and wireless communication, makes her a leading contender for the Fields Medal, regarded as the Nobel Prize of mathematics. Winners of the prize, awarded every four years, will be announced next year.
Wang was born in the southern city of Guilin. She graduated from Peking University then completed a postgraduate degree in France and a doctorate in the US. She is now an associate professor at the New York University Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences.
She will join Institut des Hautes Etudes Scientifiques near Paris as a permanent professor of mathematics starting in September, according to an announcement in May.
Last month, she gave seminars on her research at Peking University, Beijing International Centre for Mathematical Research, Capital Normal University, Tsinghua University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, with every venue full and bustling with attendees.
At the opening of her lecture at Tsinghua, distinguished mathematician Shing-Tung Yau, dean of Tsinghua’s Qiuzhen College and the first Chinese winner of the Fields Medal, said: “Hong Wang is the greatest and most important Chinese scholar of the younger generation.”
Wang thanked the audience in Chinese. She asked the students present if she could proceed in English and received unanimous agreement before starting the seminar.


However, not everyone was happy with her decision.
“Living abroad so long must have made her forget Chinese. I suppose [patriotic Chinese] must think she’s a ‘banana person’ because she speaks English,” said a social media user, using a pejorative term for Asian people seen as having been assimilated into Western societies.
Social media users compared Wang to another mathematician, Wei Dongyi, a 33-year-old assistant professor at Peking University who was educated in China. A two-time winner of the gold medal with full marks at the International Mathematical Olympiad, Wei has been affectionately dubbed “God Wei” by Chinese social media users.
Last month, Wei amassed an impressive 23 million followers in the first five days after opening his first social media account. His fans have praised his austere lifestyle and patriotic image as portrayed by state media.
For example, a 2021 China Daily report claimed that after earning his bachelor’s degree from Peking University, Wei had received an offer from Harvard University, which had promised to exempt him from English language tests. However, Wei later clarified in an interview with South Reviews that he had never been approached directly by Harvard.
Wei went on to earn a master’s degree and PhD from his alma mater in Beijing.
While some social media users praised Wang’s academic performance, many spoke highly of Wei’s dedication to China.
“These two aren’t comparable, since Wei’s devotion is entirely to the people and nation!” said one social media user.
“Whatever Wang does, it doesn’t change the fact she serves American interests,” wrote another.
Nationalism has been on the rise in recent years in China amid its intense rivalry with the United States. China’s spy agency has stoked the sentiment, frequently warning about “ill-intentioned foreign forces” in various disguises.
Xiong Bingqi, director of the 21st Century Education Research Institute, a Beijing-based think tank, said many people lacked rationality and basic media literacy skills when consuming information and presenting opinions online.
“Some social media accounts resort to bias and stoking division in pursuit of clicks,” he said, adding that a toxic online environment would inevitably distort public perception.


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China’s cyber nationalists target maths star Hong Wang over lectures in English

Mathematician Hong Wang is known for helping to solve the three-dimensional Kakeya conjecture – a century-old problem in geometric measure theory. Photo: New York University Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences

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Wei first captured national attention in 2021 when a street interview showed him in tattered clothes, holding a water bottle and a plastic bag with three steamed buns. Photo: Douyin

The brief four-second self-introduction on his Douyin account quickly gained traction, accumulating over 13 million likes, and within just five days, he attracted 23 million followers on Douyin. Photo: Douyin

Many observers have urged the public to respect Wei’s space, emphasising that his world revolves around numbers and formulas, untouched by external distractions. Photo: Douyin

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Internet users accuse Fields Medal contender bound for Paris of serving US interests because of her choice of language, overseas experience


Internet users accuse Fields Medal contender bound for Paris of serving US interests because of her choice of language, overseas experience.


China’s cyber nationalists target maths star Hong Wang over lectures in English

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Internet users accuse Fields Medal contender bound for Paris of serving US interests because of her choice of language, overseas experience

Internet users accuse Fields Medal contender bound for Paris of serving US interests because of her choice of language, overseas experience