Screenshot from a video of Sun

A video of a top Chinese university alumnus, who was a child prodigy and gained a US green card but became homeless in New York for 16 years due to mental illness, has gone viral, sparking heated discussion on Chinese social media. 

In the latest update by multiple media outlets on Monday, the homeless man, surnamed Sun, has received financial aid from the alumnus association of his alma mater - Fudan University - and now has a roof over his head. In the latest video published on Sunday, Sun, seen wearing new clothes and sporting a new haircut, thanked those who have given him a new lease on life.

It all started when a vlogger surnamed Wang happened to see Sun on the streets of New York. Sun had been sleeping in subway stations due to the extreme cold weather. 

During their conversation, the vlogger learned that the homeless man studied physics at Fudan University for his bachelor's degree before pursuing his master's and PhD degrees in the US. Sun also worked as a postdoctoral researcher and spent a few years in software development on Wall Street. 

Shortly after the video of Sun was released, Sun was recognized by someone from his hometown, Jiangyin, East China's Jiangsu Province. 

In 1985, he was admitted to Fudan University's youth class - known as the class recruiting genius students, and later went to the US for further studies through a scholarship program advocated by Nobel Prize-winning Chinese-American physicist Tsung-dao Lee. 

His research areas included particle physics and field theory, quantum chromodynamics, strong interactions and chiral symmetry. 

Over a decade ago, with a background in computer science, Sun worked as a software developer on Wall Street for two years, earning an annual salary of around $130,000. He also obtained a green card and became a US citizen, according to Sun's account.

Sun recounted that after that, he married a Chinese woman in New York who had a child. However, after his wife obtained a green card, they divorced after about seven or eight years of marriage. After the divorce, Sun began experiencing emotional instability, manic-depressive symptoms, sleep disorders, and frequent hallucinations, making it impossible for him to hold down a job.

Despite being 54 years old, he was homeless and had no fixed abode. 

He claimed that he would be able to find a job after resting for a few more months, but the reality is that he has been homeless on the streets of the US since 2007, a total of 16 years. 

"Loneliness and illusion have confused me. I don't know what is real or fake anymore," Sun said in the recent video.

According to media reports on Monday, with the help of the Fudan University Alumni Association in the US, Sun has been moved into temporary accommodation. 

The alumnus association said on Saturday that it is deeply concerned about Sun's situation and has coordinated resources with a volunteer team to provide necessary assistance. 

The vlogger Wang also wrote in his post on Sunday that "Next, the volunteers will arrange for Sun to receive treatment in the US, and they will also assist him in applying for social welfare and assistance, hoping that he can find a stable job and return to normal life."

Global Times