Gatestone Institute senior fellow Gordon Chang is warning of a lurking agroterrorism threat as Chinese nationals stand accused of smuggling a dangerous crop-killing fungus into the U.S.
"This has been going on for at least a half decade, because in 2020, Americans in all 50 states received from China unsolicited seeds, and that's an attempt to plant these invasive species," Chang said Thursday.
"This has to stop."
Chang argued that no bail should be offered to 33-year-old Communist Party loyalist and University of Michigan post-doctoral research fellow Yunqing Jian, one of the suspects who allegedly smuggled the pathogen.
SUSPECTED CHINESE BIOTERRORISTS SMUGGLED DANGEROUS AGENT INTO US IN BOOTS, OFFICIALS SAY
The FBI alleges that Jian and her 34-year-old boyfriend, Zunyong Liu, plotted the pathogen's transport in what many suspect was an effort to cripple the American food supply.
"She should be sent to Guantanamo," Chang insisted.
"But the point here is that we shouldn't be talking to a regime that is actively taking our country down. This is not just the fungus, this is fentanyl, this is COVID, this is all the rest of it."
According to an arrest affidavit, Jian first brought Fusarium graminearum, described as a "potential agroterrorism weapon" in scientific literature, to the U.S. in August 2022.
A transcribed WeChat conversation between Jian and Liu shows Liu instructing Jian on how to smuggle the fungus, according to the affidavit.
According to the Department of Justice, fusarium graminearum creates "head blight," a disease of wheat, barley, maize and rice, and "is responsible for billions of dollars in economic losses worldwide each year."
PATEL: CHINESE NATIONALS CHARGED WITH SMUGGLING 'KNOWN AGROTERRORISM AGENT' INTO US IS A 'DIRECT THREAT'
The pathogen is also toxic to humans.
Chang accused U.S. universities of "making a lot of money from China" through students, contributions and other methods, as he explained the rationale for a suspected enemy being on American soil.
"That's why we have these very disturbing ties between American institutions of higher learning and China, and we need to break that, because obviously the dangers are there, as we see with this fungus case."
The University of Michigan released a statement regarding the incident on Wednesday.
"As one of the world's leading public research institutions, the University of Michigan is dedicated to advancing knowledge, solving challenging problems and improving nearly every facet of the human experience. Our research enterprise across all three campuses is united in this commitment to serving the people of Michigan and the world," the school said.
"We strongly condemn any actions that seek to cause harm, threaten national security or undermine the university's critical public mission. It is important to note that the university has received no funding from the Chinese government in relation to research conducted by the accused individuals. We have and will continue to cooperate with federal law enforcement in its ongoing investigation and prosecution."
Fox News' Peter D'Abrosca contributed to this report.
