In July 2024, Chinese molecular biologist Liu Zunyong (Liu Zunyong, transliteration) boarded an international flight to the United States, arriving at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport and proceeding to the U.S. Customs area after disembarking.
Customs officials discovered some unusual items in his luggage. According to the federal criminal complaint, a crumpled stack of tissues was found in a small pocket in his bag.
The complaint stated that the tissues concealed a Chinese note, a piece of circular filter paper with a series of circles, and four small transparent bags containing fine pink plant material.
Liu Zunyong claimed he was in the U.S. to visit his girlfriend, entering on a B-2 tourist visa. When questioned by customs officials about the contents of his bag, he initially insisted he didn’t know what the materials were and that someone must have placed them there.
As questioning continued, Liu Zunyong admitted to making false statements and eventually revealed that the materials were various strains of a toxic fungus called Fusarium graminearum.
According to the complaint, this fungus is a pathogen that could be used for agricultural terrorism. Agricultural terrorism is a form of biological warfare that targets the food supply chain by infecting major crops such as wheat, corn, and rice.
It also produces toxins harmful to humans and livestock, posing a dual threat to food safety and public health.
The discovery by U.S. Customs and Border Protection sparked further investigation, leading to charges being filed against Liu Zunyong and his girlfriend Jian Yunqing on June 2, including making false statements and smuggling pathogens into the U.S.
In the following weeks, another similar incident occurred at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport involving a third Chinese scholar, doctoral student Han Chengxuan from Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan, Hubei Province.
Han Chengxuan was charged with attempting to bring in nematode biological materials. Like the other cases, she was also attempting to conduct further research in a lab at the University of Michigan, as outlined in the federal complaint.
Han Chengxuan admitted to shipping plasmids and culture dishes containing Caenorhabditis elegans (a nematode) from Huazhong University of Science and Technology to the Michigan lab before her arrival.
She was charged with smuggling and making false statements on June 8.
During court appearances on June 13, Jian Yunqing and Han Chengxuan waived their right to a hearing and remained in custody.
The series of incidents involving Chinese citizens attempting to smuggle potentially dangerous biological materials into the U.S. has raised concerns about national biosecurity across America.
Federal authorities, including the FBI, intercepted bioagents capable of disrupting the U.S. food system.
Jerome Gorgon, a prosecutor from the U.S. Department of Justice, described these smuggling cases as “the most serious national security threat.”
“The two foreigners are accused of smuggling a so-called ‘potential agricultural terrorism weapon,’ a fungus, into the heart of America, where they planned to utilize the University of Michigan’s lab to further their plans,” he stated in a press release on June 3.
Chinese researcher Jian Yunqing played a central role in the first case.
According to the complaint, Jian Yunqing applied for a postdoctoral fellowship allowing her to work in Texas from August 2022 to August 2023. Public records indicate she held positions at Texas A&M University.
In 2023, she accepted a researcher position at the Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions lab at the University of Michigan. Jian Yunqing is currently listed as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Michigan.
As per the federal complaint, the research topic Jian Yunqing stated in her visa application was noticeably unrelated to fungal pathogen research.
Prosecutor Gorgon revealed that she and her boyfriend “clearly intended to utilize the University of Michigan’s lab to advance their plans.”
Allegedly, the FBI found text messages between Jian Yunqing and her boyfriend on their phones. The messages indicated that in August 2022, to avoid detection at the San Francisco International Airport, Jian Yunqing smuggled “Teacher Liang’s seeds” hidden in shoes into the U.S.
Both molecular biologists studied Fusarium graminearum and authored academic papers on how this fungus attacks and overcomes the defense mechanisms of food crops.
However, the charges against Liu Zunyong were brought after he was deported by U.S. Customs and Border Protection under the justification of “inadmissibility.”
Experts in Chinese studies and unrestricted warfare find these arrests shocking.
Retired Army Reserve Colonel and China expert Lawrence Sellin mentioned a potential risk in genetic engineering.
Sellin told the Epoch Times that Jian Yunqing’s scientific publications included collaboration with a renowned Chinese scientist known for gain-of-function research, where in Jian Yunqing’s case, this could involve genetically modifying benign fungi to produce dangerous toxins.
Sellin said, “Genetically modified agricultural terrorism weapons could have a more devastating impact on American crops, livestock, and human health, leading to widespread chaos and eroding trust in the food supply, akin to the early bioengineering behind the global COVID-19 pandemic.”
Sellin highlighted that for most Americans, a comprehensive plan by the U.S. government to protect the food supply is still unclear.
Gordon Chang, a senior research fellow and China expert at the New York-based Gatestone Institute, noted his certainty that the Chinese Communist Party has been preparing to attack U.S. agriculture.
“We are totally unprepared,” he remarked. “I think China has been launching attacks on our farms and ranches for at least half a century.”
Chang suggested that the arrests of Chinese scholars in the U.S. are part of a series of events in Beijing’s “unrestricted warfare.”
He noted that in 2020, China sent unsolicited seeds by mail to Americans across the country, prompting officials from all 50 states to issue warnings not to plant them due to potential diseases or invasive species.
Chinese companies or those affiliated with the Chinese regime have been purchasing farmland in the U.S., including some near military or critical infrastructure.
Chang emphasized that this is problematic as China’s civil-military fusion policy means civilians must collaborate with Beijing’s military ambitions.
Legislation has been passed in at least 19 states to block foreign entities from purchasing agricultural land, with some states restricting purchases of land near military facilities or sensitive infrastructure.
However, Chang believes that overlooked is the potential for farmland controlled by the CCP to serve as an ideal location for launching agricultural terror attacks on U.S. soil.
Chang disclosed that China’s state-run People’s Daily declared the U.S. an enemy in a May 2019 editorial, announcing what they termed as a “people’s war” against the U.S., which for the Chinese military signifies “total war.”
“Hence, we need to understand that we are under attack; it’s not peacetime now, and we need to take tougher measures because if we don’t, we will lose our country,” Chang cautioned.
While Washington reached a trade deal with Beijing allowing Chinese students to study in the U.S., concerns remain over the influence of Chinese scholars in sensitive research positions in America.
John Moolenaar, chairman of the Congressional China Task Force and a Republican representative from Michigan, initiated a formal investigation in March into six prominent universities admitting Chinese students for advanced STEM programs.
Moolenaar wrote to the university presidents requesting information on policies regarding the admission of Chinese students and researchers, expressing worry that American academic institutions might unintentionally aid China in utilizing American technological innovations for strategic and military purposes.
“The U.S. student visa system has become a Trojan horse for the Chinese government, delivering unrestricted access to our premier research institutions, directly threatening our national security,” Moolenaar stated.
Requests for comments were made to the lawyers representing Chinese nationals Jian Yunqing and Han Chengxuan.
Han Chengxuan’s attorney, federal assistant public defender Sara Garber, stated in an email, “Ms. Han is presumed innocent, and we will await further litigation before making any comments.”
David Duncan of the Maryland-based Zalkind Duncan & Bernstein law firm representing Jian Yunqing did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Last Friday, Jian Yunqing’s lawyer declined to comment on an earlier article.
The incidents involving the Chinese citizens highlight a deeper concern regarding Chinese nationals holding sensitive research roles in the United States.
For instance, in the Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions workgroup at the University of Michigan, there are 13 professors and researchers, including Jian Yunqing. Among them, nine are Chinese, three are Korean, and only one is American.
The University of Michigan did not respond to questions from the Epoch Times regarding whether Chinese citizens among the professors, research fellows, or visiting scholars had undergone screening for membership in the CCP.
However, the university referenced its latest statement on the matter in which it vowed to assist authorities in investigating the detained Chinese citizens.
The school also mentioned plans to review policies, inspect “internal practices to determine how to enhance relevant training and provide more guidance.” The statement indicated repercussions, including dismissal, for acts not compliant with laws and policies.
While some Chinese universities do not require making loyalty pledges to the CCP, more are beginning to do so.
According to Scholars at Risk, the largest and most prestigious scientific organization in China, the Chinese Academy of Sciences updated its internal conduct guidelines in 2023, stipulating that academic research must abide by CCP policies.
These updates marked the first amendments to the guidelines since September 2014.
The Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter reported in the same year that Chinese doctoral students funded by the China National Scholarship Council were asked to sign contracts pledging allegiance to the CCP and to prioritize China’s national interests.
One provision required a family member of the student to remain in China until the student returned. Concerns arose that students’ families could be used as a means to ensure compliance with CCP dictates. Following this revelation, the renowned Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, temporarily halted the admission of Chinese scholarship students.
Former CIA operations officer and national security expert Claire Lopez indicated that these events are part of a broader strategic plan plotted in Chinese military theory.
“They (the CCP) regard biowarfare targeting agriculture, animals, and humans as part of their military arsenal,” Lopez told the Epoch Times.
Lopez stressed the multifaceted pressures faced by Chinese researchers. She pointed out that even those living in the U.S. for years might still have obligations to provide intelligence to the Chinese Ministry of State Security.
In March 2023, the U.S. Congress ramped up scrutiny of Chinese influence in American higher education, with the Congressional China Task Force conducting a formal inquiry into six leading universities admitting Chinese students for advanced STEM programs.
The Epoch Times contacted representatives for the Chinese nationals Jian Yunqing and Han Chengxuan for comments.
The article ends here.