After the terror attack carried out in Boulder over the weekend by an Egyptian radical who overstayed his visa, a lot of attention is understandably being paid to the issue of finding and deporting people who have overstayed their visas. And, the Trump administration is already in the process of "aggressively" revoking student visas for Chinese students, especially those studying in critical fields or who have ties to the Chinese Communist Party (which, I would argue, is every single one). But they might need to work faster, given the indictment of two Chinese nationals - one a student working in a laboratory at the University of Michigan - for attempting to smuggle a bioterror agent into the country last July.
On Tuesday federal authorities announced that Yunqing Jian, 33, and Zunyong Liu, 34, had been charged with conspiracy, smuggling goods into the United States, false statements, and visa fraud. From the press release:
The FBI arrested Jian in connection with allegations related to Jian’s and Liu’s smuggling into America a fungus called Fusarium graminearum, which scientific literature classifies as a potential agroterrorism weapon. This noxious fungus causes “head blight,” a disease of wheat, barley, maize, and rice, and is responsible for billions of dollars in economic losses worldwide each year. Fusarium graminearum’s toxins cause vomiting, liver damage, and reproductive defects in humans and livestock.
According to the complaint, Jian received Chinese government funding for her work on this pathogen in China, and a January 2024 work assessment form found on her phone, which she signed, contained a pledge of loyalty to China and to "support the leadership of the Communist Party of China, resolutely implement the party’s educational guidelines and policies, love education, care for students, unite colleagues, love the motherland and care about international affairs."
When customs agents at Detroit Metropolitan Airport found baggies containing various strains of the fungus in his luggage Liu at first denied they were his, according to the complaint. Eventually he admitted they were his and told agents what they were, and that he planned to clone them and make more samples if his experiments failed. The customs agent wrote:
“Liu stated that he intentionally hid the samples in his backpack because he knew there were restrictions on the importation of the materials. Liu confirmed that he had intentionally put the samples in a wad of tissues so CBP officers would be less likely to find and confiscate them, and he could continue his research in the United States.”
Liu would be able to continue that research at the University of Michigan, where his girlfriend was also conducting research on Fusarium.
“Liu stated that, while he was in the United States, he would have free access to the laboratory at the University of Michigan on some days, and that other days his girlfriend would give him access to the laboratory to conduct his research."
Investigators searched Liu's phones (yes, multiple phones) before immediately sending him back to China and on one of them found an article titled “2018 Plant-Pathogen Warfare under Changing Climate Conditions," which listed Fusarium graminearum as a "destructive disease and pathogen for crops."
Liu had worked with Jian at the University of Michigan lab until April 2024, when he returned to China. It's believed that Liu has been in China since being denied entry to the United States on July 27, 2024.
FBI Director Kash Patel called the attempt "a direct threat to national security" in a statement to Fox News Digital:
"This case is a sobering reminder that the Chinese Communist Party continues to deploy operatives and researchers to infiltrate our institutions and target our food supply, an act that could cripple our economy and endanger American lives. Smuggling a known agroterrorism agent into the U.S. is not just a violation of law, it’s a direct threat to national security. I commend the FBI Detroit Division and our partners at CBP for stopping this biological threat before it could do real damage."
Jian made an initial appearance Tuesday afternoon and is being held without bond until a detention hearing scheduled for Thursday. Liu has returned to China.
These attempts by China aren't going to slow down; if anything, they will increase as Xi Jinping faces growing internal challenges due to President Trump's tariffs and the cancellation of their (spy) student visas.
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