Last week, it was discovered that 19-year-old Haoxiang Gao, a Chinese student attending the University of Michigan, who was charged in October with illegally voting in the 2024 general election, managed to evade sentencing by using a second passport to return to China.

The 19-year-old Chinese citizen accidentally turned himself in when he returned to the early voting location in Ann Arbor, MI, where he had successfully cast a ballot and asked to retrieve his ballot. The clerk informed the Chinese student that his votes had already been tabulated and that there was no way to identify his ballot. Because Gao was able to successfully evaded authorities, he was also able to prevent a public relations nighbmare for MI Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, who repeatedly assured voters and members of the US Congress that there is no need to make voters show proof of citizenship, because foreigners don’t vote in our elections because they know it’s against the law.

In September 2025, the Michigan Secretary of State was asked by the Committee on House Administration at the “American Confidence in Elections: Looking Ahead to the 2024 General Election” hearing whether she thought Americans should have to prove their citizenship to vote in federal elections. Benson smugly responded to his question by saying, “No,” that she doesn’t believe citizens should be required to prove citizenship, assuring the members of Congress, “There is no evidence that non-citizens are voting in our elections. One month later, Gao, a non-citizen, admitted to illegally voting in our elections. Jocelyn Benson is currently a Democratic Party contender for governor in Michigan. Does it seem curious that Gao was able to evade federal agents and escape prosecution by fleeing the US to avoid a high-profile court case that would damage Jocelyn Benson’s credibility and her chances of becoming the Democratic candidate for governor?

Last week, a 19-yr-old Chinese citizen who illegally voted in MI’s 2024 general election was able to use a 2nd passport to evade prosecution by fleeing to China.

Will his curious disappearance help MI’s DISHONEST SOS Jocelyn Benson w/ her bid for governor, by avoiding a trial? pic.twitter.com/5vW87oGNh0

— PattyMI (@PattyLovesTruth) June 3, 2025

One week after Gao successfully escaped sentencing by fleeing to China, President Trump’s FBI has arrested another Chinese citizen tied to the University of Michigan. 

34-year-old Zunyoug Liu, a female Chinese research fellow in the Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Department at the University of Michigan, was arrested by federal agents and charged with attempting to smuggle a biological pathogen into the United States.

34-year-old Zunyoug Liu – U of M photo

Investigators say the substance is classified as a potential agricultural terrorism weapon, capable of causing billions of dollars in damage to food crops.

According to unsealed federal court records, 33-year-old research fellow Yunqing Jian, whose phone records reveal that she has pledged allegiance to the Chinese Communist Party, was working with her 34-year-old boyfriend, Zunyong Liu, to smuggle Fusarium graminearum, a deadly fungus, into the United States through Detroit Metropolitan Airport on July 27. The deadly fungus causes “head blight,” a disease affecting wheat, barley, maize, and rice, resulting in billions of dollars’ worth of economic losses worldwide each year, according to federal officials in the United States. Its toxins also cause vomiting, liver damage, and reproductive defects in humans and livestock, the release says.

According to the Detroit News, the charges against the Chinese couple include conspiracy to defraud the U.S., smuggling, making false statements to investigators, and visa fraud. The smuggling charge carries the stiffest penalty — up to 20 years in federal prison.

The roots of the case involving the Chinese scholar and her boyfriend stretch to March 2024. That is when Liu applied for a B2 tourist visa to enter the U.S.

The application asked: Do you seek to engage in espionage, sabotage, export control violations, or any other illegal activity while in the United States?”

Liu answered “no,” and officials approved his tourist visa.

He arrived at Detroit Metro four months later, in July 2024.

During an inspection, an officer found a hidden note in Chinese, a round piece of filter paper, and four baggies filled with small clumps of reddish plant material, the FBI agent wrote.

Biological Pathogens discovered in Liu’s possession at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport – Photo from US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan

Liu lied when asked questions about the materials, according to the court filing, saying someone “must have put them into his bag.”

“After further questioning, Liu acknowledged that the materials were different strains of the pathogen Fusarium graminearum,” the agent wrote.

Jian made an initial appearance in federal court Tuesday afternoon and is being held without bond while awaiting a detention hearing Thursday. Her boyfriend has returned to China.

From the FBI agent’s criminal filing: “When Customs and Border Protection officers questioned Liu, he made false statements to CBP officers about the purpose of his visit to the United States, and his knowledge of the existence of the biological pathogen in his possession. Ultimately, Liu admitted to smuggling the pathogen and stated that he brought the pathogen into the United States so that he could conduct research on it at a laboratory at the University of Michigan, where his girlfriend, Jian, worked.”

According to the complaint, Jian received funding from the Chinese government for her work on this pathogen in China. The complaint also alleges that Jian’s electronics contain information describing her membership in and loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party. It is further alleged that Jian’s boyfriend, Liu, works at a Chinese university where he conducts research on the same pathogen and that he first lied but then admitted to smuggling Fusarium graminearum into America—through the Detroit Metropolitan Airport—so that he could conduct research on it at the laboratory at the University of Michigan where his girlfriend, Jian, worked.

After LIU’s smuggling of the biological pathogen, FBI Agents interviewed JIAN, who falsely claimed that she knew nothing about LIU’s smuggling or his intent to conduct research on the pathogen at the laboratory during his visit.
In fact, an examination of electronic communications between LIU and JIAN shows that the two discussed the shipping of biological materials and research being done in the laboratory prior to LIU’s arrival. Electronic evidence also shows that JIAN has been involved in smuggling packages of biological material into the United States on prior occasions.

LIU initially stated that he did not know what the materials were and that someone must have put them into his bag. When asked why someone would put those materials into his bag, LIU stated that he did not know, and that maybe he had accidentally put the materials there. After further questioning, LIU acknowledged that the materials were different strains of the pathogen Fusarium graminearum.

LIU stated that he planned to clone the different strains of Fusarium graminearum contained on the filter paper and make more samples if the experiments on the reddish plant material failed. LIU stated that he intentionally hid the samples in his backpack because he knew there were restrictions on the importation of the materials. LIU confirmed that he had intentionally put the samples in a wad of tissues so CBP Officers would be less likely to find and confiscate them, and he could continue his research.

United States Attorney Gorgon stated: “The alleged actions of these Chinese nationals—including a loyal member of the Chinese Communist Party—are of the gravest national security concerns. These two aliens have been charged with smuggling a fungus that has been described as a ‘potential agroterrorism weapon’ into the heartland of America, where they apparently intended to use a University of Michigan laboratory to further their scheme.”

“The federal charges announced today against Yunqing Jian and Zunyong Liu, both residents of the People’s Republic of China, signify a crucial advancement in our efforts to safeguard our communities and uphold national security,” said Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office. “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. Thanks to the exceptional investigative efforts of the FBI Detroit Counterintelligence Task Force, in close cooperation with U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Field Operations, these dangerous activities have been effectively halted. The FBI remains resolutely committed to collaborating with our law enforcement partners to protect the residents of Michigan and defend the United States against such grave threats.”

U.S. Custom and Border Protection, Director of Field Operations Marty C. Raybon stated, “Today’s criminal charges levied upon Yunqing Jian and Zunyong Liu are indicative of CBP’s critical role in protecting the American people from biological threats that could devastate our agricultural economy and cause harm to humans; especially when it involves a researcher from a major university attempting to clandestinely bring potentially harmful biological materials into the United States. This was a complex investigation involving CBP offices from across the country, alongside our federal partners. I’m grateful for their tireless efforts, ensuring our borders remain secure from all types of threats while safeguarding America’s national security interests.”

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Vicky