National security authorities and members of Congress are raising alarm over the alleged plot by two romantically involved Chinese researchers to smuggle samples of a dangerous crop-killing fungus into the US.
Yunqing Jian, 33, a Communist Party loyalist and lab researcher at the University of Michigan who received Chinese government funding for her work, plotted the illicit transport of the pathogen with her boyfriend, Zunyong Liu, 34, the FBI alleged.
Liu was was caught at Detroit Metropolitan Airport last July after allegedly attempting to sneak packages of Fusarium graminearum into the country, the feds said.
“This is an attack on the American food supply,” one senior Trump administration official told The Post.
The fungus is already present in the US, but if it was manipulated to become resistant to treatment or to spread more easily, it could have the potential to devastate American farms, one expert told The Post. The US should be testing the fungus sample for any evidence it’s been tampered with, the expert added.
There are similar allegations that the virus that causes COVID-19 was enhanced by China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology as part of US-funded “gain-of-function” research of the naturally occurring SARS pathogen. China denies that COVID leaked from the lab, but US intel agencies now say that appears to be the most likely cause of the pandemic.
“The CCP will use every tool in its warfare toolbox to cripple the United States and bring us to our knees. A pathogen like this, if successfully introduced into a crop, could inflict significant economic loss for U.S. agriculture producers,” House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rick Crawford (R-Ark.) told The Post.
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) said it appears the FBI may have intercepted a “potential bioweapon.”
“We are very fortunate the Trump administration and federal law enforcement stopped this potential bioweapon before it compromised our nation’s food supply,” Ernst told The Post.
“This is exactly why I have always said and will continue to say – food security is national security. Between this latest bioweapon and China’s highly-concerning purchases of U.S. farmland around our military bases, we must stay on guard against the threat from Communist China in our own backyard.” --->READ MORE HERE
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| Detroit Free Press/IMAGN |
Chinese researchers accused of smuggling 'potential agroterrorism weapon' into US to study at University of Michigan lab
FBI Director Kash Patel told Fox News Digital that the case involving two Chinese nationals who were charged Tuesday with allegedly smuggling a "dangerous biological pathogen" into the U.S. to study at the University of Michigan laboratory demonstrates a serious national security threat to America's food supply.
"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," Patel told Fox in a statement. "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."
University of Michigan research fellow Yunqing Jian and her boyfriend, Zunyong Liu – both citizens of the People's Republic of China – have been charged in a criminal complaint with conspiracy, smuggling goods into the United States, false statements, and visa fraud, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan announced Tuesday. The investigation is being conducted by the FBI and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
The couple are accused of smuggling a fungus called Fusarium graminearum, which scientific literature classifies as a "potential agroterrorism weapon," according to the Justice Department. Federal prosecutors note the 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."
The Justice Department also says fusarium graminearum’s toxins cause vomiting, liver damage, and "reproductive defects in humans and livestock."
According to the criminal complaint, Jian, 33, allegedly received Chinese government funding for her work on the pathogen in China.
Federal prosecutors say Jian’s electronics contain information "describing her membership in and loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party."
Liu, 34, allegedly works at a Chinese university where he conducts research on the same pathogen, according to the complaint. Federal prosecutors say "he first lied" but then admitted to smuggling Fusarium graminearum into the United States through the Detroit Metropolitan Airport. His alleged goal was to conduct research on the pathogen at the laboratory at the University of Michigan where his girlfriend, Jian, worked, according to court documents.
The FBI arrested Jian in connection with the allegations, and she was scheduled to make her first federal court appearance in Detroit on Tuesday afternoon, according to the Justice Department. It's unclear whether Liu has been taken into custody. --->READ MORE HEREFollow links below to relevant/related stories and resources:
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