DOJ charges another Chinese national in connection to University of Michigan lab
A Chinese citizen has been charged with smuggling biological materials into the U.S. through a University of Michigan lab, marking the second such incident in recent weeks.
The DOJ and multiple federal agencies are investigating ties between Chinese nationals and American university research facilities, raising concerns over national security and foreign influence.
The Department of Justice’s (DOJ) U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan has charged another Chinese citizen with smuggling goods into the United States through a laboratory at the University of Michigan.
Chengxuan Han is a Chinese citizen currently pursuing his doctorate at a university in China, according to the DOJ. Han sent packages over the past two years to individuals at Michigan’s laboratory, which contained “biological materials related to round worms.”
However, when she was apprehended at Detroit’s airport on Sunday, Han made “false statements” about the packages. Han’s phone also showed signs of having been wiped prior to her arrival in the U.S.
“The alleged smuggling of biological materials by this alien from a science and technology university in Wuhan, China—to be used at a University of Michigan laboratory—is part of an alarming pattern that threatens our security,” U.S. Attorney Jerome Gorgon said in a press release.
“The American taxpayer should not be underwriting a PRC-based smuggling operation at one of our crucial public institutions,” Gorgon added.
Multiple federal agencies are investigating the incident—including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
This is not the first time that a Chinese citizen has been arrested for attempting to smuggle biological materials into the United States through a Michigan laboratory.
Two other Chinese nationals, Yunqing Jian and Zunyong Liu, were charged on June 3 with smuggling and visa fraud for bringing the Fusarium graminearum fungus into the U.S. The fungus has the potential to cause crop diseases and reproductive damage in humans.
Jian remains listed as a “Research Fellow” on the university’s website.
“These individuals exploited their access to laboratory facilities at a local university to engage in the smuggling of biological pathogens, an act that posed an imminent threat to public safety,” FBI Detroit Field Office agent Cheyvoryea Gibson said.
The Department of Education has opened investigations into the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Pennsylvania for alleged failures to disclose foreign funds. UC Berkeley, in particular, has received hundreds of thousands of dollars from an individual with connections to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Campus Reform contacted the University of Michigan for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
