US says it broke up effort to bring toxic fungus to Michigan lab from China
DETROIT (AP) — A Chinese scientist entered the U.S. last year with a toxic fungus stashed in his backpack, federal authorities said Tuesday as they filed charges against him and a girlfriend who worked in a lab at the University of Michigan.
The pathogen is known as Fusarium graminearum, which can attack wheat, barley, maize and rice and sicken livestock and people, the FBI said in a court filing in Detroit.
The FBI said a scientific journal describes it as a “potential agroterrorism weapon.”
Yunqing Jian, 33, and Zunyong Liu, 34, were charged with conspiracy, smuggling, making false statements and visa fraud.
“The alleged actions of these Chinese nationals, including a loyal member of the Chinese Communist Party, are of the gravest national security concerns,” U.S. Attorney Jerome Gorgon Jr. said.
Jian appeared in court and was returned to jail to await a bond hearing Thursday. An attorney who was assigned only for her initial appearance declined to comment.
In July 2024, Liu was turned away at the Detroit airport and sent back to China after changing his story during an interrogation about red plant material discovered in his backpack, the FBI said.
He initially claimed ignorance about the samples but later said he was planning to use the material for research at a University of Michigan lab where Jian worked and where Liu previously worked, the FBI said.
The FBI said authorities found a scientific article on Liu’s phone that was titled, “Plant-Pathogen Warfare under Changing Climate Conditions.”
A week before arriving in the U.S., according to investigators, Liu exchanged messages with Jian, who said, “It’s a pity that I still have to work for you.”
The FBI said Liu replied: “Once this is done, everything else will be easy.”
Months later, in February, FBI agents visited Jian at the campus lab. She said, “100% no,” when asked if she had been assisting Liu with the pathogen at the lab. The FBI said it found a signed statement on her phone expressing her support for the Communist Party of China.
Messages between the two in 2024 suggest that Jian was already tending to Fusarium graminearum at the campus lab before Liu was caught at the Detroit airport, the FBI said. The university does not have federal permits to handle it.
The U.S. does not have an extradition treaty with China, which makes Liu’s arrest unlikely unless he returns.
这个挺严重的，是往密歇根大学投运有毒真菌 LOL
版主： Softfist
#3 Re: 这个挺严重的，是往密歇根大学投运有毒真菌 LOL
搞军用技术还往美国跑，是为了帮助美国开发病毒对付中国？
感觉整个故事完全不make sense。又一个中美合作武毒所项目？
当然石新冠也常跑美国。
感觉整个故事完全不make sense。又一个中美合作武毒所项目？
当然石新冠也常跑美国。
上次由 DonnieTrump 在 2025年 6月 4日 11:19 修改。
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VladPutin（清风不识字何故乱翻书）
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#8 Re: 这个挺严重的，是往密歇根大学投运有毒真菌 LOL
可能大学email里知道的，密歇根大学email肯定是要被检查的，过去我传送一个文件用了好一会儿才收到，估计是可能有敏感词
“老婆，我带样品来，明天到” 这一类的话被检测到了
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VladPutin（清风不识字何故乱翻书）
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VladPutin 的博客 - 帖子互动： 1312
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VladPutin（清风不识字何故乱翻书）
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#10 Re: 这个挺严重的，是往密歇根大学投运有毒真菌 LOL
国人用email的很少，都是微信。难道微信被监听了。lubbock12 写了： 2025年 6月 4日 11:37 可能大学email里知道的，密歇根大学email肯定是要被检查的，过去我传送一个文件用了好一会儿才收到，估计是可能有敏感词
“老婆，我带样品来，明天到” 这一类的话被检测到了
