Counter-terrorism expert weighs in on fungus allegedly smuggled into Michigan
Two people, Yunqing Jian, a 33-year-old postdoctoral fellow at the University of Michigan, and her boyfriend, Zunyong Liu, are accused of smuggling a dangerous pathogen called "Fusarium graminearum" through the Detroit Metro Airport last summer.
The Chinese nationals are charged with conspiracy, smuggling goods into the United States, false statements, and visa fraud
Javed Ali, a counter-terrorism expert at the University of Michigan, says that based on information from the official criminal complaint, it doesn't look like a legitimate attempt at research.
"The attempts to conceal the connection to the Chinese Communist Party with the female grad student, the multiple attempts to covertly bring in this pathogen if that's the right way to describe it. The communications they were having for a couple years talking about different methods of concealment."
FBI Director Kash Patel addressed the charges against Jian and Liu on social media saying, "This case is a sobering reminder that the CCP is working around the clock to deploy operatives and researchers to infiltrate American institutions and target our food supply, which would have grave consequences... putting American lives and our economy at serious risk."
Ali says that while there are still many unanswered questions, he sees this case as potentially another example of a foreign adversary seeking a way to penetrate top American universities.
"There has been and perhaps will be in the future this sort of persistent and enduring threat not only the University of Michigan but higher education in general from foreign Governments," he said.
The University of Michigan released a statement on Wednesday saying that officials "strongly condemn any actions that seek to cause harm or threaten national security" and that they have "received no funding from the Chinese government in relation to research conducted by the accused individuals."
Jian is scheduled to be in court for a detention hearing on Thursday.
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