The US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan put out a bit of a cryptic press release on June 3. The headline read: “Chinese Nationals Charged with Conspiracy and Smuggling a Dangerous Biological Pathogen into the U.S. for their Work at a University of Michigan Laboratory.” While it seems to be a straightforward announcement of a foiled plot to ruin the US food supply with a fungus, some key information appears to be missing. Here are the facts we do know.
Two Chinese nationals, Yunqing Jian and Zunyong Liu, “were charged in a criminal complaint with conspiracy, smuggling goods into the United States, false statements, and visa fraud,” according to the press release. US authorities claim the couple tried to bring an agroterrorism bioweapon known as Fusarium graminearum (FHB) into the country. The plant pathogen apparently causes “head blight” in crops such as barley, rice, maize, and the 100-pound gorilla – wheat. Killing off that many crops in America’s heartland with a tiny – and difficult to detect – fungus spells starvation, thus the connection with bioterrorism.
The female part of the couple, 33-year-old Jian, worked at the University of Michigan’s Molecular Plant-Microbe Interaction Lab. Special Agent in Charge at the FBI Detroit Field Office Cheyvoryea Gibson said, “These individuals exploited their access to laboratory facilities at a local university to engage in the smuggling of biological pathogens, an act that posed an imminent threat to public safety.” The impending threat part is odd only because the event that led to the complaint allegedly occurred in July of 2024.
J.P. Isbell of Michigan News Source outlined the dastardly plot:
“What made Liu think he could easily get into the university lab when he no longer works there? According to the criminal complaint, he 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. That begs the question: what kind of security protocols are in place at the University of Michigan lab?”
Good question. Another relevant fact that appeared to be initially missing in this foiled caper is the role played by Liu’s partner in the alleged plot. Where is the boyfriend known as Zungyong Liu? Some reports say he was not permitted to enter the country and returned to China, where he works in a university lab. Others claim he is “at large,” though it is not specified whether he is missing in China or the US. But on Thursday, June 5, the Detroit Free Press reported that Liu – who managed to smuggle the fungus into the Detroit Metropolitan Airport “in clear plastic baggies in his backpack” – was sent home. An affidavit filed in court claimed that “U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers denied him entry and processed him for expedited removal back to China.” Why American authorities did not arrest and hold Liu is mystifying. But his girlfriend was not so lucky.
Jian is currently in US custody and was present for a bond hearing on June 5. However, her detention hearing was delayed until June 13 so that she might have legal counsel present.
A Fungus Among Us and Much More
The fungus that the two were working on doesn’t just devastate crops – it is a toxin that makes people vomit and causes birth defects and liver damage in animals and people. The US Attorney presser put it simply: “The alleged actions of these Chinese nationals … are of the gravest national security concerns.”
This is only the latest in a series of plots that American authorities say are being carried out against the US by China. Remember the spy balloon floating across the country back in 2023 that was finally taken out by a US fighter jet? Then, of course, there have been longstanding concerns about apps such as TikTok collecting massive amounts of data on American citizens. And finally, there are accusations – apparently with evidence – that solar panels produced by China and imported into the US – contain “kill switches.” According to the Daily Mail, “[R]ogue communication devices not listed in product documents have been found in some solar power inverters by US experts who strip equipment hooked to grids to check for security issues, two sources told Reuters.” They claim these kill switches “could destabilise power grids, damage energy infrastructure and trigger widespread blackouts.”
All this subterfuge is exceedingly troubling. Taking down food supplies, killing off livestock, surveying US military installations, and rocking the US power grids signal that the Cold War between the People’s Republic of China and the United States of America is heating up.
