Chinese researcher pleads no contest to smuggling biological materials into U.S. lab

[rangerrebew]

Chinese researcher pleads no contest to smuggling biological materials into U.S. lab

08/25/2025 // Laura Harris //
 
Han Chengxuan, a 28-year-old doctoral student from Wuhan, pleaded no contest to three smuggling charges and one count of making false statements after attempting to bring undeclared biological materials into the U.S. for research at the University of Michigan.
Han shipped plasmids and petri dishes for cultivating organisms, often hiding them in books or mislabeling their contents. Customs agents intercepted four shipments; others were lost.
Han initially denied knowledge of the shipments and later admitted to sending them. She also deleted data from her electronic devices before arrival in the United States.
Han's sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 10. She faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted on all charges.
Han is the third Chinese researcher charged in Michigan for smuggling biological materials. Two others, Yunqing Jian and her boyfriend Zunyong Liu, allegedly attempted to smuggle Fusarium graminearum, a crop-destroying pathogen classified as a potential agroterrorism threat.

https://www.alipac.us/f9/chinese-researcher-pleads-no-contest-smuggling-biological-materials-into-u-s-lab-432722/

[rangerrebew]

Han initially denied knowledge of the shipments and later admitted to sending them. 

As I remember it, the media attached itself to her denial like stink on skunks.

[Fishrrman]

Once more, I'll say it (in all seriousness):
Bring back the "Chinese Exclusion Act" of 1882:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Exclusion_Act

[Smokin Joe]

A little perspective on the seriousness of this particular material:

Update on the Basic Understanding of Fusarium graminearum Virulence Factors in Common Wheat Research
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11053692/

Bleached ears caused by the fungus Fusarium graminearum have emerged in luscious green fields of wheat, threatening wheat producers around the world [1]. After infection, the fungus spreads rapidly in the ear; continues to multiply and grow during the grain filling and maturity of wheat; and produces a variety of toxins in wheat grains, including deoxynivalenol (DON), nivalenol (NIV), and zearalenol (ZEN). Once these toxins enter the human body or livestock, they cause the body’s immunity to decline, leading to teratogenesis, cancer, abortion in pregnant women, and other pathogenic effects, thus posing serious harm to the health of humans and livestock. Historically, the first outbreak of this fungus was reported in 1884 in England, followed by America, Europe, Australia, and South Africa [2,3,4]. An estimated loss of USD 3 billion throughout the 1990s was documented in North America. Since then, approximately 28 million metric tons of wheat grain has been infected, accounting for almost USD 5.6 billion [1,5]. From 2004 to 2012, the annual economic losses ranged from CAD 1 million to 9 million in Alberta, Canada (Government of Alberta, 2015).

Put them in the room with the opened containers. Feed them for a couple of days, then send them back.