Chinese national accused of smuggling pathogens into Michigan enters not guilty plea
By Elaine Rojas-Castillo
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DETROIT, Michigan (WWJ) — On Thursday, one of the Chinese nationals charged with allegedly trying to smuggle dangerous pathogens into the country appeared before a judge in federal court.
Yunqing Jian, 33, appeared alongside her private counsel as her charges were read out.
The postdoctoral fellow at the University of Michigan, along with her boyfriend, Zunyong Liu, 34, faces charges of conspiracy, smuggling goods into the United States, false statements and visa fraud. Jian entered a plea of not guilty after Judge David R. Grand explained the speedy trial process, including how this gives prosecutors time to build their case and show probable cause that she committed the crime.
Linda Wan, a member of Code Pink, a feminist organization, sat in the gallery to show support for Jian.
“We just realized that something sounded fishy. It didn’t sound right that such wild charges were being leveled,” said Wan.
While the group originally planned to protest on the steps of the courthouse, lawyers for Jian shared her concern about attracting unwanted attention and asked them to support her quietly instead. Members of the grassroots organization say they felt compelled to speak out over what they call the unfair targeting of foreign scholars.
“It was no longer a far, far away idea or an abstract idea. It was being waged right on our college campus. So, we felt it was our duty to raise attention to this,” said Wan. “We look at this case as a political case that government authorities are using this as an opportunity to create sensationalist headlines as part of the demonization of China.”
The pathogen at the center of the case, Fusarium graminerum, is a noxious fungus known to cause “head blight,” a disease that impacts barley, rice, wheat and maize and causes economic losses worth billions of dollars each year.
CBS News Detroit attempted to speak with Jian’s attorneys, who wouldn’t comment.
Jian will remain in custody until her next court date, which is yet to be determined.
Earlier this month, a Chinese research student, who was also accused of smuggling biological materials, was sentenced to time served and will return to China.
Chengxuan Han, 28, of the People’s Republic of China, was sentenced after federal investigators alleged she sent four packages to the U.S. from China containing concealed biological material in 2024 and 2025. Those packages were allegedly addressed to people associated with a University of Michigan laboratory.
Han was stopped by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at Detroit Metropolitan Airport after arriving on a J1 visa on June 8. While officers inspected Han, she reportedly lied to authorities about the packages and the biological materials she had allegedly previously sent to the U.S.
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