The family of a doctoral student at Fudan University who died during an academic exchange to the United States are preparing to head to America to challenge police findings that he committed suicide.

Xu Zhen, a 26-year-old doctoral student in Fudan's medical college, was on an academic exchange at the University of Pittsburgh when he was found dead in his dorm room on July 27. His family says they were told Xu died of strangulation, but they don't know if he was hanged or not.

The Chinese Embassy in the United States phoned Xu's family -- a poor family of farmers in Shengzhou, Zhejiang Province -- to inform them about Xu's sudden death on July 29.

Police in Pittsburgh said they found sleeping pills in Xu's system but no other details of the death are available. Embassy officials told Xu Fusheng, the student's father, that police were ruling the death a suicide.

The 60-year-old doesn't believe it. "My son made a routine phone call to home the day before his death. Every word he said was as normal as usual. He even gladly told us that he will soon publish an important paper," Xu said.

"It absolutely couldn't be a suicide," said Xu Jun, Xu's elder brother. "My brother was an elite and promising young man, how could he choose to hang himself without any difficulty encountered."

Born in a suburban mountain town in Shengzhou, Xu was one of the few Shengzhou students admitted to Fudan Medical College's biochemical department in 1996.

He went on to earn a master's degree at the school before entering its doctoral program. He earned a US$20,000 scholarship to finish his doctoral degree in Pittsburgh last October.

"Xu was an optimistic person and knew how to take care of himself well," said Shang Cheng, one of Xu' classmates, adding that Xu also phoned his girlfriend in Shanghai, saying that he had bought a new air conditioner for his dorm the day before his death.

"Our only requirement now is that the university helps us find out the exact reason for my brother's death," Xu's brother Xu Jun said.

The family received visas from the US consulate in Shanghai Monday, but are still struggling to come up with enough money to make the trip.

Yin Lianhua, an official with Fudan University's medical school, said the school can't offer any aid except to send Xu's Chinese instructor to accompany his family on the trip.

(Shanghai Daily August 10, 2004)