Public sentiment surrounding the arrest of Chinese scientists for smuggling biological materials into the US is overwhelmingly negative, characterized by skepticism, fear, and anger. Many view it as a severe national security threat and potential biosecurity risk, with accusations of espionage, bioterrorism, and an 'act of war'. There are strong demands for punitive measures against those involved, highlighting distrust towards Chinese nationals and dissatisfaction with governmental responses. Skepticism about the motives behind the smuggling, fueled by past experiences like the COVID-19 pandemic, further exacerbates the fear and mistrust.

Chinese Scientists

US Government

Chinese Government

"Biological material in a sock"

Yes. It was...research.

BlueHeartbeat

should have used a [shaving cream can](https://www.slashfilm.com/cool-stuff-jurassic-park-shaving-cream-can/)

narsty

Did they seriously think the X Ray would not spot a medical vial in the bag?

Nothing screams contraband like a medical vial in the wrong bag.

[deleted]

I love the WeChat diversionary CCP statements at the end of the article, “You are making it hard on other Chinese students...”

MenloMo

&gt; China has been asking the US to treat Chinese scientists and researchers in a fair manner.

I'd say look at the way China has treated people in the past that have done similar things to their country and do the same with the people caught doing it on their behalf.

Invisinak

I had to go through US customs after coming back from London in the late 90s, and they were VERY suspicious of my 2 tiny vials of spare soft contact lenses:  "What's this?!?" 

I pointed out that the vials were marked Ciba Soft &amp; were sealed in the factory, they had my Rx &amp; date, and the saline solution was clear. You could totally see my contact lenses floating. I had zero contraband, and they seemed kind of disappointed.

StupidizeMe

This is the best tl;dr I could make, [original](https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3043167/chinese-researcher-accused-trying-smuggle-vials-biological) reduced by 84%. (I'm a bot)
*****
&gt; The document says Zheng was later taken to an interview room and confessed that he had stolen eight vials from the research lab at Beth Israel Hospital and he had replicated 11 vials from Zhang Tao&amp;#039;s research.

&gt; The affidavit added that Zheng said he had planned to take these vials to Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital for further analysis and hoped to publish a paper under his own name if the research proved successful.

&gt; A laptop owned by another Chinese national was also found in Zheng&amp;#039;s baggage and the FBI concluded it contained research material after an initial inspection.


*****
[**Extended Summary**](http://np.reddit.com/r/autotldr/comments/ee9hfm/chinese_researcher_accused_of_trying_to_smuggle/) | [FAQ](http://np.reddit.com/r/autotldr/comments/31b9fm/faq_autotldr_bot/ "Version 2.02, ~451482 tl;drs so far.") | [Feedback](http://np.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%23autotldr "PM's and comments are monitored, constructive feedback is welcome.") | *Top* *keywords*: **research**^#1 **Zheng**^#2 **Chinese**^#3 **China**^#4 **vials**^#5

autotldr

Clearly it just accidentally fell into the sock.

sokos

Note to self: do not bring cum sock on airplanes

killrtaco

saskatoondude

I honestly can’t fucking stand China anymore

SgtGirthquake

If it fit in a sock, why not just add it to your toiletries?

VehaMeursault

How about we stop hiring agents from China huh?  I mean what do you expect.

envvariable

hitchens123

Was he a teenage boy?  That's where most teenage boys store their biological material.

"stealing research"  China is a sad bunch of incompetent sad sacks. Cheat their way too a degree and then steal a discovery . Cut it out you losres ,you have no honor.or shame.

Davescash

Tourquemata47

Put him in jail so Xi can't use his organs

ruff_puff

gtech9

We should really consider a ban of employment of Chinese nationals in areas with exposure to high value research/technology. Not saying overall bans for getting a job here, just jobs where research theft like this can occur (biology labs, defense firms, etc). And only people who still have citizenship in China. All too often people in these research positions hop on a flight never to be seen again. And all that research ends up being used to create a Chinese product alternative using US research investment money. That product is then sold at a price the US company can never match. It's just so annoying that nothing can be done to counter it and theft is in the hundreds of billions of dollars annually in the US. All to China.

At first I parsed the sentence in such a way that the Chinese researcher was hidden in a sock.  Clearly that didn't make sense, so I tried again.

I wish I had stayed with my original interpretation.

The American government should take an active role in recruiting Chinese students into spy programs and send them back to actively sabotage Chinese R&amp;D, as well as sabotage manufacturing facilities.

justlurkingatwork

It was found to be suspiciously crispy and smell kind of funny

If he put them in with his luggage he would have got thru just fine, then when questioned he could just say they are test compounds for research. I assume they are not drugs that would trigger on a normal spectrum analyser for meth/canabis/mdma etc, so security would do a swab and then let it through.

101forgotmypassword

The Chinese have the absolute dumbest spies.

deanresin

We need a travel ban on China. Seriously the amount of spying on government/military installations and stealing trade secrets and intellectual property that they do is a threat to national security.

If he get caught doing this in China he would disappear in concentration camp like    Uyghurs, would work for life in basement lab

Biological material could mean almost anything. Drugs, blood, DNA, proteins, CUM

TrippyTiger69

This is actually scary. I hope we are doing due diligence for our top-level research and cdc officials, otherwise something like smallpox could be smuggled out of confinement.

Kerlyle

“But seriously, does anyone know anything about any launch codes?”

BlankCorners

taa_dow

... Sorry, let me see if I get this straight:


Two Chinese nationals, one with *alleged* links to the CCP, attempted to smuggle in an agroterrorism agent into the United States? And they knew of the export controls on the fungus when they tried to do so?


At the height of Trump's fervor about his trade war?


At a minimum, this reads like a bad spy novel. I can't imagine the CCP would be this dumb, but I also can't imagine the sheer amount of damage such a fungus could unleash in the Americas. Maize, wheat, and barley are massive crops through North and South America.


They need the book thrown at them, but maybe some questions also need to be asked of China, too... 

UltimateKane99

LettingHimLead

averagerustgamer

this is called manufactured consent. remember yellow cake?

Duo-lava

Guys.... guys...... Lets see if these students with ties to china who didnt have authorization to carry this dangerous material, and who study at a university which doesnt have a permit to work with this material, have broken any rules before we get worked up. It could be a big old nothing burger! /s.

Sasquatchii

Put it all together. China is not a friend yet we rely upon them for so many things due to the sellout of usa by politicians - both Republicans and dems. Trump and team have done a terrible job explaining why we need to reduce reliance on China in relation to their tariffs. They are a foe, not a friend. It's not that different than cold war. Imagine if 90% of our antibiotics came from USSR? That is nuts but what we are doing now with China. America and western world need to wake up to the reality of this. 

Cranberry_Klutzy

 Trying to intentionally cause food insecurity for a nation and their export destinations is so incredibly vile

Shmeepish

This is a propaganda hit peace.. Anyone could literally just mail something in that might have spores on it or not declare in customs. What nefarious actor goes through customs and says "I'm with the CCP and I have a danger fungus sample here!" The US is looking for reasons to justify war with China.  

When famine hits the US, it'll be from disastrous policy that bankrupted farmers.  That's how it happened in Germany, that's how it'll happen in the US.  Same. Game.

Successful_Sun777

This reads to me like people getting caught in the crossfire of the china US tensions.     

I know multiple people in universities that did similar things (bringing samples to a collaborator in hand luggage).m because the prof was too cheap to pay for shipping.       

The background of the postdocs supervisor checks out, she does research on fusarium species and it would be absolutely believable she wants to start a project on this pathogen.       

Also the "article on plant-pathogen warfare" cited everywhere is beyond ridiculous. The article is about how plants fight pathogens, not about how plants pathogens can be used in war.      

Feel sorry for the postdoc that was caught in this.

ConfidentEvent7827

CCP SPY TERRORIST ATTACK! DEATH PENALTY!!!

ghostofTugou

They aren't charged with terrorism they are charged with smuggling and we don't like that. Asian carp, citrus greening fly, lion fish, tumble weed, the killer bee, the mountain bark beetle, the chestnut blight the list is endless this list represent Trillions of dollars of economic damage. if they had been smuggling wagyu semen it would be a 92k fine they should pay that. also people talking about trump they were arrested in july 2024 under Biden

Global-Evening-6597

This is all the reason why I'm glad it's not sleepy guy running the show anymore

deadkennedy123

Just some quick AI fact check: Experts emphasize that while the fungus is a significant agricultural problem, it is not a new or foreign threat to the U.S.—scientists and farmers have been dealing with it for many years, and it is already found in native grasses and crops across the country. The primary reason for smuggling Fusarium graminearum into the U.S.—despite its existing presence—is related to research motives and regulatory requirements, not introducing a new species.

rladebunner

This is insane. You are all re****s. They have thousands of citations. This is pure yellow peril.

Historical-Secret346

You wonder if the weakened position of the USA makes other countries in fact belive the USA is weak and will continue to try their luck until the orange taco does something?  Problem with international trade it goes hand in hand with diplomatic trade.   A weak USA will continue to have ripple effects and you only have to blame mismanagement for this.

mazurbnm

Before folks freak out this is not that big a deal. This can really be a nothing burger

cocobaltic

Innocent until proven guilty. Also, inform yourselves, the mushroom spores that they were bringing into study are already all over the united states. This was likely not an attempt of terrorism. But was a college student trying to earn her PHD. And there's no proof of links to the CCP. Only accusations from overbearing government officials.

I-needadvice-

###[Meta] Sticky Comment

[Rule 2](https://www.reddit.com/r/conspiracy/wiki/faq#wiki_2_-_address_the_argument.3B_not_the_user.2C_the_mods.2C_or_the_sub.) ***does not apply*** when replying to this stickied comment.  

[Rule 2](https://www.reddit.com/r/conspiracy/wiki/faq#wiki_2_-_address_the_argument.3B_not_the_user.2C_the_mods.2C_or_the_sub.) ***does apply*** throughout the rest of this thread.

*What this means*: Please keep any "meta" discussion directed at specific users, mods, or /r/conspiracy in general in this comment chain ***only.***

*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/conspiracy) if you have any questions or concerns.*

AutoModerator

gamedevjobber

This is stupid on everyone's part. The researchers should have declared the samples. The news organizations should be pointing out these species are already in the US. The government shouldn't be fear mongering about the being "CCP members." And...

&gt; isnt this how covid started?

No.

prodbop

AdAltruistic8526

I recall hearing stories of scientists flying with filter papers containing virus samples many years ago. Ten years ago I took the Amtrak from New Haven to NYC with mosquito eggs… International travel is a different ballgame.

I_Try_Again

Actually… my lab can and does send staff to collect items. You get burnt by shipping issues on an extremely rare gene or specimen once or twice and realize the best way to do it is to do it yourself. We have a whole legal department handle the paperwork because it can be very confusing even for subject matter experts. 

As the article says, she wasn’t trying to *not declare* anything, it was most likely a minor clerical error that should have incurred a $500 fine, not jail. She wasn’t sneakily trying to hide a huge box with ice packs.

Edit: she protested Russia. Wonder if that happens to play a role here.

typhacatus

I remember it being technically illegal but scientists commonly flew with a tube or two of non-hazardous samples in carry-ons before 9/11. I only thought twice about it if I was flying internationally. Since then, I only know of people carrying on dry things (packets of seeds, eg).

mossauxin

Yeah, i dunno. Sometimes you just gotta transport those samples yourself. It can be easier to travel with samples and explain them than to ship them and have them get ruined by customs or an inspector. 

Turtledonuts

Yeah I don’t get paid enough to go to jail. If my PI wants to travel with some lab stuff that’s up to them. I’m not doing it.

A former boss of mine offered to pay one of us a few hundred dollars to drive to a city approximately 2hrs away to bring back some patient samples. But, we would have to travel in our own car with lots of dry ice. Naturally, I told him to pound sand but a coworker was seriously considering it. I finally convinced this person that it was dangerous and certainly not worth taking a chance for a few hundred dollars.

watwatinjoemamasbutt

I've had to ship research specimens internationally the "proper" way and it's a pain in the ass. I once had to wait 9 months to obtain the proper permits for a shipment. So, I totally get why someone doesn't want to deal with the hassle and just sticks a microtube and an ice pack in their luggage. That being said, I personally would never want to risk going to prison in a foreign country just to save time and paperwork.

sjmuller

The article says her colleague asked her to bring back the embryos because they are essential for their research and when they had FedEx deliver some, the samples were thawed and destroyed.

She should have been fined - not imprisoned! Plus, if they send her to Russia, she could be killed because she protested the war there.

Entire-Ad2551

Pretty sure as long as you have the Letters of Authority, Movement Certificates, Sanitary Inspection Certificates, etc etc, you can move stuff yourself. It's not like FedEx or DHL is any more careful with these things. To them it's just another package with a few extra forms in the shipping pouch.

At least this is the case when we ship regulated plant viruses in live tissues...

It’s not that unusual, We have a battery powered cell box designed specifically for this kind of thing. It’s actually designed to go on aircraft as hand luggage.  But you still need to do the paperwork and declare the hazard and have the OK to travel with it.

probablyaythrowaway

Reading this just as my boss wanted to send me halfway through Europe with sample tubes on a plane... We're driving instead. Ugh. 16h drive.

benemivikai4eezaet0

Yeah okay I get why immigration had a problem with this particular one 😅 

Just because Willy nilly sample delivery was normalized, doesn’t mean it’s good

Im_Literally_Allah

It's not that insane if you've ever had to deal with shipping (and especially losing) this kind of precious reagent.

skelocog

I know of an event where a grad student came back from a trip to India with an undeclared sample of live Vibrio cholera culture hidden in a 1-2ml saline bottle, the type that you use to deliver eyedrops for dry eyes.  They played it cool but were definitely worried that Customs would ask them to prove that it was saline by putting it in their eyes.

I also know that labs from China will ship out plasmid DNA dried on an unlabelled 1cm^2 piece of filter paper that's tucked between two pages of a scientific catalog.  They'll mail it overseas with a "book" designation, thus avoiding paperwork, export controls, etc.

Bicoidprime

Having undeclared research materials in your personal luggage is a very quick way to get customs and border protection to pounce on you. The border situation is heinous, but that itself isn’t new. People have been caught smuggling all kinds of things. Harvard itself has dealt with a similar situation before: https://www.reuters.com/article/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/chinese-cancer-researcher-accused-by-us-of-smuggling-vials-admits-to-false-sta-idUSL1N2IJ29X/

nephila_atrox

I did lab haz mat management and I have seen way too many scientists stuff dangerous things in luggage and carry ons. I spent a lot of time trying to save them from themselves. They'd throw oxidizers and accelerants *that aren't even allowed on the same ship or plane bc they're so cross reactive* right into the ol carry on. Thankfully no one blew up a plane or got sent to a gulag somewhere but as I kept emphasizing luck didn't mean you were doing the right or safe thing.

PinataofPathology

OP, you think it’s insane for someone to transport frog embryos? I’m puzzled by this. They’re not like ampoules of radium. Maybe if they’re invasive that could be against some laws, but if they’re run-of-the-mill frogs being used for research, why is this so astonishing?

bilgetea

Well clearly, she was trying make the frogs gay.

Cytomata

“There is nothing that indicates that a customs violation makes you inadmissible to the United States,”

Um, actually:

https://www.rnlawgroup.com/623-how-an-arrest-can-lead-to-visa-revocation/

And from https://www.cbp.gov/border-security/protecting-agriculture/importing-biological-materials-united-states:

&gt; All biological materials imported into the United States must be documented, labeled, packaged, placarded, and declared in accordance with relevant international, federal, and state regulations.  Importers are responsible for knowing and adhering to these regulations, and noncompliance with any regulation may result in importation delays, civil or *criminal* penalties, and/or seizure of the biological materials.

Pointing out the "criminal penalties" part.  

She brought biological samples over and didn't declare them.  That is a criminal offense.  Because of her criminal history, her visa is now invalidated.  Is it a very strict interpretation and enforcement of the law?  Yes.  Is it illegal or unconstitutional?  No. 

She'd better get a better lawyer or she's fucked (she's probably fucked either way).

EDIT:  And yes OP, it is absolutely stupid to just toss biological samples in your carry-on and pray you make it through customs.

terekkincaid

I get some extra questioning anywhere that has me declare my profession asking if I'm carrying any sort of lab specimens, I don't think this is too crazy. Russians are far from disliked by the current admin so I don't think this is another one of their racist actions.

TwoCrustyCorndogs

Does anyone with access know whether she properly declared what she was bringing across? This seems like something you would obviously need to declare with burdensome amounts of paperwork. There’s a reason people pay so much to ship things. 

This is insane, she tried to bring across ambiguous samples which the average cbp guy can’t tell from a vial of anthrax. Yeah, she needs to be detained and charged, possibly further punishment for sheer stupidity.

rock-dancer

Over a decade ago I flew domestically with live drosophila in a dram in my pocket. At TSA, I pulled it out because I didn’t want them going through the xray necessarily, and the agent was like wtf… this is so cool! Was happy to hold them and look at them while I made my way through security

gingy_ninjy

Let he who hasn't traveled with a few vials of Kalavirus throw the first stone.

Tzayad

I flew with tissue blocks in my carry on back in 2019 domestically but I don’t think I would do that nowadays with how weird this administration is.

Particular-Cat-5629

Used to be the safest and most efficient way of transporting small numbers of valuable samples, including pathogens.  It was called VIP, vial in pocket.  But foolhardy to do since the Patriot Act and enhanced airport screening.

snakeman1961

I’ve carried live trypanosomes across Manhattan in my backpack. It was the same day Cory Lidle crashed his plane into a building on the Upper East Side. It was only 5 years after 9/11 so people freaked out and we couldn’t get a cab as we planned. Instead I took a bus and then subway back to the lab and just hoped I didn’t end up in a situation where my bag was searched.

TACO503

Yeah, you're supposed to declare stuff like biologics AND get USDA approval for it BEFORE you fly in to the states. This is true everywhere.  The Russian Scientist was trying to skirt the extra work. Now he's in hot water.

femsci-nerd

The PI should have used a proper courier and done the paper work. PIs fault. The problem is that if the embryos were alive and Xenopus species they could have pathogenic fungi (chytrid) deleterious to our native frogs. I agree with customs this type of behavior can wreck an ecosystem-- think introduction of the spongy moth for example. She is pretty ignorant if you ask me and not a proper biologist who would be aware of this. She should have fixed the embryos in formaldehyde and done the paper work for import. 
As for Putin he has bigger fish to fry. Perhaps she can learn about some of the ecological disasters caused by inadvertent introductions while she is on "holiday" in Siberia!

TumbleweedWorldly325

Wow why isnt this going viral ? Covid wasnt enough and they are again up with something ?

Efficient_Fly_9232

Slightly away from topic but just wanted to put it out there. US and China work in diff ways to destabalise the world and harm rising powers

USA: More subtle: Religious conversions, Funding terrorism (behind doors), wars (under pretext of democracy), one sided deals, control of world's media, using Google, etc. to track ppl, having vassal (puppet) states  
China: More open: SARS, COVID, carrying out military drills as a show of force, debt trap, now this

Logical_Union3218

Must be some hand of American pharma lobby behind it as well just like in case of Covid virus development by China...

AshutoshRaiK

COVID pandemic by China was planned to take over Western Financial world collapse by buying out most lucrative companies when West got wiser and put a ban on that, they are trying new tactics. How come China is funding all over the world when their own economy is collapsing after their big real estate market ended up with no buyers and huge receivership? HOW? I will tell you how. And it is not so outrageous it sounds, as it has been done in WWII by Germany and Japan. China is printing US Dollars and UK pounds and Euros in its secret hidden printing underworld dark web of money laundering. Why do you think most cryptocurrency companies are owned by Chinese CEO's and founders? It is an ideal platform for washing fake money printed in China, and Trump and his sons are right into it.

auto459

We have opposition for that. China doesn't need advanced warfare to beat India and hence thinks we are irrelevant.

xyyzzz514

Great post OP.

I believe Indian embassies have tightened the norms for issuing visa to Chinese nationals since covid by a great extent. Although residents in HK can easily fly to India.

Secondly, I think these kind of strains fetch far more damage to western immunity than to our Indian all herbs, spices &amp; nuts loaded immunity. Ofcourse if they manufacture something serious then none of that would matter.

Biological warfare definitely sounds like a page from CCP agenda.

Dr-slyDragon007

Imagine what kind of pandemics China will be able to design with  AIs.

RajLnk

A series of arrests involving Chinese scientists smuggling biological materials into the United States has sparked concerns about potential threats to national security.

Chinese Scientists Arrested for Biological Material Smuggling in the US

Why This Matters

Public Sentiment Summary

Highlighted Comments

Parties Involved

What the people want