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UPDATE: U.S. Dropping Case Against Local Professor

UPDATE (Sept. 14, 2015) — PHILADELPHIA (AP) —Federal prosecutors sought to dismiss charges Friday against a Temple University physics professor who was accused of scheming to provide secret U.S. technology to China after being confronted with statements from physicists that investigators had misunderstood the technology. Story here.

Original story below.

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PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The former chairman of Temple University's physics department has pleaded not guilty to charges he gave U.S. technology secrets to China.

Xi Xiaoxing is an expert on superconductivity. Federal prosecutors say he sought prestigious appointments in China in exchange for providing data on a U.S. firm's device.

The 47-year-old professor appeared in court in Philadelphia Thursday to enter his not guilty plea.

He is free on $100,000 bail but has surrendered his passport. He is a naturalized U.S. citizen born in China.

Xi has retained Washington lawyer Peter Zeidenberg, who successfully defended an Ohio woman in a Chinese spying case.

Zeidenburg vows that Xi will also be exonerated.

He remains a Temple faculty member. He lives with his wife and children in suburban Philadelphia.

(© Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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