Moolenaar: Michigan Arrest Highlights CCP Threat to Our Food Supply and Our Universities

Today, the Justice Department announced it is charging two Chinese nationals with attempting to smuggle a dangerous plant disease into the United States. The charges were brought against Yunqing Jian, a researcher at the University of Michigan and member of the Chinese Communist Party, and her boyfriend, Zunyong Liu, who is employed by a Chinese university. Congressman John Moolenaar released the following statement in response to the announcement.  

“The criminal charges unsealed in federal court show loyal members of the Chinese Communist Party were planning to experiment on a plant disease that would devastate Michigan agriculture and the food supply our nation depends on. This case should be fully prosecuted as a threat against our country. This is only further proof that American universities must be more vigilant when it comes to research security and the participation of Chinese nationals in these institutions,” said Moolenaar. 

The criminal complaint alleges that Liu lied to investigators last year while attempting to bring a fungus known as Fusarium graminearum through the Detroit Metropolitan Airport. According to the academic journal “Food Security” the fungus is classified as a potential agroterrorism weapon. The fungus causes blight in a variety of field crops and is responsible for crop damage around the world. It also produces toxins damaging to the health of humans and livestock.