The public reaction to the arrest is overwhelmingly negative, expressing grave concerns over national security and biosecurity threats. Many perceive the incident as a potential act of biological terrorism, with comparisons to past crises like COVID-19 enhancing these fears. A prevailing distrust towards China is evident, exacerbated by worries about inadequate security measures and the perceived mishandling of the situation by authorities and media. While some voices suggest skepticism regarding the event's authenticity, the dominant sentiment reflects anxiety and demands for stricter security protocols to prevent future occurrences.

Chinese Nationals

U.S. Government

China

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Anti-Owl

I think we need to hear the defense’s response or at least an analysis by a third party expert.

Appropriate-Claim385

Seems like if it was the chinese govt and not just scientists being scientists, they would not have gotten caught. Like you wouldn't risk the scientists you need during smuggling. You would have multiple others do the smuggling through various ways.

Reasonable_Today7248

They're postdocs at a US university doing research on the genetics a ~~Bacterium~~ fungi that is already in the US. This is a non-story, propaganda used to justify xenophobia and the slashing of funding for international students.

nyan-the-nwah

This is extremely concerning and serious and I hope it will be treated as such

HappyAnimalCracker

That’s quite a crazy story!

Thank you for sharing!

elziion

Yikes!!
United States Attorney Jerome F Gorgon Jr described the allegations as of the "gravest national security concerns".

"These two aliens have been charged with smuggling a fungus that has been described as a 'potential agroterrorism weapon' into in the [sic] heartland of America, where they apparently intended to use a University of Michigan laboratory to further their scheme."

Head00andShoulders

So they can just come in and commit biological warfare at any time, huh? Meaning anyone anywhere, not selectively picking out Chinese people. But this is absolutely terrifying. Terrifying. We need  more and better biosecurity.

Gammagammahey

LIFE IN PRISON... and Televised to deter even more fucking morons. .. 


*NO QUESTIONS ASKED!*

YourDadThinksImCool_

This is, unfortunately, fairly common. The leader of the lab is frustrated by the hoops they have to jump through or the cost to bring in biohazardous items legally so a trainee who happens to be home and near where a collaborator has the item can pick it up and just bring it into the country when they enter. I doubt there was anything nefarious about this.

nbx909

Here’s the Department of Justice release: https://www.justice.gov/usao-edmi/pr/chinese-nationals-charged-conspiracy-and-smuggling-dangerous-biological-pathogen-us?fbclid=IwY2xjawKsC3JleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHipvxmZMaE3d0fcjiqMthv1-Ott4HPP6QywIxf0gGgDlcu1z6Pyn9APKcCrg_aem_d-MYTSRdYsedqqEXGDRSQw

I’m not a UofM person, but I do think Wolverines are quite possibly the coolest mammal to walk the earth. Stopped by to see if there was a discussion on this topic. But apparently some flowers are the current hot topic. 

Hoping to see some local insight on this one, but I doubt anyone will come out as a strong ally of the two under investigation. Would also like to hear a response from the Uni related to details of this research and whether the research was sanctioned in any way. 

CO_Surfer

I would say it’s just people being lazy about a grad project but then I saw Visa fraud involved in the charges as well… that’s…not a good look guys… multiple felonies..? There’s more to this story.

Unpopular_Ninja

What was the other case? Also this article is pay walled 🥲

bigfatbursleyliar

Interesting the feds released photos of the specimens and details about how the smuggling took place but no details on this loyalty pledge to the CPC. 

EDIT: nevermind the complaint had the contents of the pledge but I think the admin is going to milk that as a way to manufacture consent for a Red Scare 2.0 (not that the Red Scare ever ended)

kombinacja

Lock em up. Tried to destroy american crops. Motive trump wanting to ending Chinese farm ownership. 

Sadly they are likely not the only ones to do this. I expect to read about corp failure in the future.

LILSKAGS

Anything coming from the Trump Administration I take with a pound of salt 🧂🧂 i

FinGoBlue

Glad to see our government protecting us.

Hatdude1973

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DocHolidayiN

This reminds me of all the invasive seeds that China was sending unsolicited.

[link](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/02/us/Seed-packets-China-USA.html#:~:text=A%20federal%20agency%20said%20it%20had%20identified,fruit%20and%20vegetable%2C%20herb%20and%20weed%20species.%E2%80%9D&amp;text=All%2050%20states%20have%20since%20issued%20warnings,sent%20packets%20from%20at%20least%2022%20states.)

Edit ..it's still happening 

[March 2025](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/31/us/invasive-seeds-scam-china.html)

WestsideJazzFan

 &gt; after dangerous 'head blight' pathogen 'smuggled into US'



&gt;The toxins produced by this fungus can cause severe health issues, including vomiting, liver damage, and reproductive problems in both humans and livestock.


By ANNA CARLSON

12:20 ET, Tue, Jun 3, 2025 | UPDATED: 12:49 ET, Tue, Jun 3, 2025



The FBI has arrested two Chinese nationals over an alleged plot to smuggle a "potential agroterrorism weapon" into the U.S. Yunqing Jian, 33, and her boyfriend, Zunyong Liu, 34, have been charged with conspiracy, smuggling goods into the United States, false statements, and visa fraud.

This fungus is responsible for “head blight,” a serious disease affecting wheat, barley, maize, and rice that leads to billions of dollars in economic losses globally each year.
  
The toxins produced by this fungus can cause severe health issues, including vomiting, liver damage, and reproductive problems in both humans and livestock.
 
On Tuesday, a federal court in Detroit unsealed the FBI’s case against a University of Michigan scholar and her boyfriend. This marks the second instance in under a week where a Chinese national affiliated with the university has faced federal charges.



An woman in handcuffs, arrested by the police, at the police station

Jian is set to make her initial appearance in court after the complaint  



&gt;The complaint states that Jian received funding from the Chinese government for her research on the pathogen while in China. It also claims that Jian's electronic devices contain information regarding her affiliation with and loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party. Additionally, the complaint alleges that Jian's boyfriend, Liu, is employed at a Chinese university, where he conducts research on the same pathogen.
  
Initially, he denied, but later confessed to smuggling Fusarium graminearum into the United States via the Detroit Metropolitan Airport.

"When Customs and Border Protection officers questioned Liu, he made false statements to CBP officers about the purpose of his visit to the United States, and his knowledge of the existence of the biological pathogen in his possession," an FBI special agent stated in the press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Michigan.

However, the press release stated that Liu admitted to smuggling the pathogen and stated that he brought it into the United States so that he could conduct research on it at a laboratory at the University of Michigan, where his girlfriend, Jian, worked.
               
 
“The alleged actions of these Chinese nationals—including a loyal member of the Chinese Communist Party—are of the gravest national security concerns," United States Attorney Gorogon said.

He continued: "These two aliens have been charged with smuggling a fungus that has been described as a ‘potential agroterrorism weapon’ into in the heartland of America, where they apparently intended to use a University of Michigan laboratory to further their scheme."

While Jian is expected to make a brief appearance in federal court Tuesday afternoon, her boyfriend has already returned to China. The investigation is ongoing, as a complaint is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt.

Puffin_fan

This is only going to get worse. USA is China's enemy, whether they know it or not.


There is a lot of anti American warmongering propaganda in China. They are not friends of the West.

iunnox

Where did the Chinese spy balloons travel? I wonder if there’s a correlation to with major grain and corn producing states. Could easily disperse those pathogens with the balloons.

Allelevens

This is why all the visas of college students just got pulled.

skimmily

her bf has already returned to China, where he's a "loyal member of the Chinese Communist Party" and studies these lethal pathogens. Noice, that was nearly a close one!

stooB_Riley

Like the professor at Logan airport just before the shutdowns

Jizzbuscuit

Is *this* an act of terrorism yet?

Ya know, making biological agents for the explicit purpose of fucking up the US?

Oh, no?

Oh, okay then.  Cool.  So who's the terrorist? Oh, the guy who keyed a Tesla Cybertruck.  Got it.

Battle_of_BoogerHill

Introduction  /   summary

Hope this   makes   your day

Nothing like a nice heaping helping of PRC / Peking "wet  market" generated "head blight pathogen"  to  make your day a sunny sunny place

Y'all come back now, ya hear !!


[ and don't, for all that is holy to the American Chamber of Commerce, forget to vote for "free trade"

Emergency_Sandwich_6

While y’all are trying to tie every event that happens to “mossad” or “Israel” countries like China are doing real crazy stuff like this under the radar.

Dear-Nebula6291

Ceruleangangbanger

NorCalTopHat916

  for the TSA to set up 20,000 airport stations for X ray checks for "head blight pathogens"

Please take off your shoes and belts and wallets and keys before stepping into the "head blight pathogen" x ray box

Another 200 $ for TSA taxes to cover the fees

contract out to "friends of dft"

WolfWhitman79

&gt;On Tuesday, a federal court in Detroit unsealed the FBI’s case against a University of Michigan scholar and her boyfriend. This marks the second instance in under a week where a Chinese national affiliated with the university has faced federal charges.

Fuck Michigan!

yaaanevaknow

brosenfeld

This is some serious shit coming from a non supporter of American wars

jaxmattsmith


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ElusiveBob

And there is no money for research anymore

Boxofmagnets

Maximum-Class5465

"...Candida auris, also called C. auris, was first identified in the U.S. in 2016. Since then, the number of cases have increased every year, jumping substantially in 2023..."

"...People with a healthy immune system may be able to fight off infection on their own, but Candida auris mainly spreads in health care settings, where people are sick and vulnerable. People with catheters, breathing tubes, feeding tubes and PICC lines are at the highest risk because the pathogen can enter the body through these types of devices..."

newleafkratom

Lovely. Another outbreak to throw in the pot. The US is becoming the "Stone Soup" of sickness, aren't we?

RevenantNMourning

"The clickers, they're such beautiful people. The click, they clack, they eat a couple of immigrants. It's amazing! I had a 106% approval rating amongst the clickers. In many senses the clickers are more nice to me than some people. Yeah, that's true. I think we might change all people into clickers."

\- Donald Trump after this fungus takes over most of the US.

[deleted]

Just because Trump is president doesn’t mean disease, viruses, funguses and infections halt. He’s in for a nice infectious disease party these four years.

Full-Explanation4705

100% of people who mainlined bleach no longer have to worry about the fungus. 100% !!

More-than-Half-mad

They better address this threat, or it'll be the last of us!

Brilacidin works.  Brazil is leading the charge.

Ultimateeffthecrooks

Hopefully a new drug will be discovered to combat it.

chockedup

No problem - they'll just fire more people in the CDC. And market bogus remedies. Capitalism at work. As long as someone turns a profit from this, it's all good.

oldcreaker

The new CDC predictions are just going to be made by a guy throwing some chicken bones in a circle he drew on the floor.

Least-Monk4203

At this point I would take being turned into a Clicker.

OfficialDCShepard

Thats one hell of a yeast infection! 

There has been a lot of uptick in research over the last decade for phage therapy and viruses that kill drug resistant candida strains. 

Unfortunately, the same thing that makes a virus very good at killing its hosts makes it very difficult to get it approved as a standard treatment through the FDA, adaptation. 

I will say this, if you contract MRSA in the United States and it’s spreading and they’re talking about cutting your limbs off or some crazy shit like that to save your life hop your ass on a plane and get to Poland or Georgia because phage therapy against MRSA is standard care and effective.

Trextrev

I don’t think I can watch The Last of Us anymore

moyogisan

AceMcLoud27

adognameddanzig

Dependent-Hurry9808

The ketogenic diet, which is high in fats, moderate in proteins, and very low in carbohydrates, can potentially help in managing candida overgrowth by starving the candida of its primary fuel source—sugar. This diet effectively reduces the availability of glucose, which is essential for the growth and proliferation of candida. By limiting the candida’s food supply, the ketogenic diet can help reduce fungal infections.
Intermittent fasting, when combined with the ketogenic diet, can further enhance the effectiveness of this approach. Fasting periods, especially those lasting 16 hours or more, increase autophagy, a process that helps eliminate damaged cells, including those affected by candida. This dual approach of starving the candida and boosting autophagy can help restore a balanced gut environment, which is less suitable for candida overgrowth.
Additionally, incorporating natural antifungal agents such as caprylic acid, oregano oil, and garlic can enhance the effectiveness of the ketogenic diet and intermittent fasting regimen. These agents can help kill existing candida overgrowth and support overall gut health.

Reminds me of the opening scene in the Last of Us. Amazing scene

yachtsandthots

tennwife

Sassy_Weatherwax

JLonelyBoy

Just in time for the last of us season 2. Lol

Nihiliatis9

Candida. Too similar to Canada. If he even knows about it, how long before Cheeto Mussolini starts calling it the Canadian virus? He liked calling covid the Chinese virus.

hendeeillus

adwrx

PrinceGreenEyes

Maybe some other country, where they fund scientific research and medicine, will find a cure.

Grouchy_Row_7983

Looking at the numbers.. and taking things like population, temp, humidity, and source of origin into account… seems like the fungus is intolerant to cold and dry climates.  I wonder if air filters will catch it?  Or the spores even.

Ok_Common_5631

Translation: There’s a fungus among us.

Superb_Health9413

The Last of Us was my favourite game and HBO series. I'm pretty excited.

KoalaCapable8130

messyskillz408

Invasion of the cordyceps! Deport the fungi!

Electric_Banana_6969

cuddlyrhinoceros

Well, Last of Us season 2 is soon here. Perfect timing for a global infestation

CuriousRexus

rampzn

RFK’s brain worm: yes…yess keep multiplying

ciphoned_mana

Great. Time to stock up on UV lightbulbs and Ivermectin again.

The_Spyre

Vegetable_Addendum86

SnooPears754

A health secretary has watched a little too mich Last of Us.

Potential-Stress-561

Probiotics are the natural enemy of fungi and other microbes. Load up while you can.

FullyRisenPhoenix

The FBI has arrested two Chinese researchers for allegedly smuggling a hazardous biological pathogen into the United States, raising national security concerns.

FBI Arrest of Chinese Nationals for Smuggling Dangerous Fungus to the U.S.

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