Original subtitles

We're under attack.

We could lose our country becaus

We are not defending it with

The vigor and determination that

Necessary.

Two chinese nationals are facing

Charges for allegedly smuggling

Dangerous fungus into america.

This is a fungus that

Has caused billions and billions

Of dollars in agricultural damag

Prosecutors say it's a potential

Agro-terrorism weapon.

American.

Would die in great numbers if

Our agriculture were blighted.

Imagine walking into

Grocery stores and seeing no

Bread and nothing else

That might have wheat in it, eve

An ingredient.

Those students were

Doing something they knew they

Should not be doing.

That automatically tells me that

Their intent was not great.

One doesn't carry in a pathogen

By a mistake.

It's not as if they don't have

Laboratories and universities in

China, so there's some reason

They're here.

We have a dangerous product.

I don't want to work on it in wu

I'll bring it to america's

Heartland.

And if there's any risk, america

Can deal with the risk.

This was an act of

Terrorism. This was act of

Bioterrorism.

This was a weapon of mass

Destruction.

The international spy museum

In washington, d.C.

Inside this vault,

Thousands of rare and decommissi

Espionage artifacts line these

Shelves, kept from the

Public eye.

Everything from code machines to

Disguises, a glimpse into

The spy work of yesterday.

But today, the intelligence

Community is up against an invis

Enemy.

So small, you can't see it with

The naked eye, but so powerful

It could cripple the american

Economy.

It sounds like something out of

Sci-fi movie, but it's a

Very real threat at our airports

Shipping ports, and post offices

Every single day.

And it's not arriving here by

Accident, it's being smuggled

In.

And its destination isn't

A dark alley or the dark web,

But a place you might least

Expect.

The university of michigan,

One of the oldest and most

Competitive public colleges in t

Country, known for its elite

Academics and powerhouse

Football programs.

They're in a beautiful city, ann

Arbor. They have wonderful sport

Teams, excellent graduate progra

Roughly 53,000 students

Pass through the prestigious cam

Every year.

The next generation of engineers

Scientists, and doctors spending

Countless hours in lecture halls

Libraries, and laboratories.

Many are driven by a promising

Tomorrow, but not everything

Is as it seems.

Two chinese nationals are facing

Charges for allegedly smuggling

Dangerous fungus into america.

Prosecutors say it's a potential

Agro-terrorism weapon that

Could be toxic for crops like wh

Barley, and rice.

In June of 2025,

Chinese nationals working at the

University of michigan were char

With smuggling in pathogens.

The pathogen, known as fusarium

Graminarium, or

Fg for short,

Attacks cereal crops,

Which can cause billions in econ

Losses.

A man named lou,

Was caught smuggling

Fg through the detroit airport.

And he had tried to conceal it

In his backpack and

Crumpled up tissue to make it lo

Like it was something innocuous.

Cbp is very, very

Good at identifying strange

And possibly dangerous

Stuff coming into the united sta

And through that screening proce

They discovered that he had

Smuggled in this particular

Fungus.

The fungus caused what's

Known as head blight.

It's a disease that primarily

Affects grain.

Wheat, barley, rice.

So it destroys the kernel on

The wheat plant.

And then if animals consume it,

Animal gets sick.

And then, if people consume it I

Could lead all the way up to dea

This is a fungus that

Has caused billions and billions

Of dollars in agricultural damag

Face to face with cbp

Officers, lew denied bringing

In the devastating fungus,

But eventually came clean.

The man told officials he wanted

Conduct research on it at the

University of michigan.

His girlfriend, also a chinese

National, had been working at th

University since 2023.

We discovered that she also

Had smuggled the same fusarium

Into the us a few years earlier.

Encrypted messages on a system

Called wechat gave a

Play-by-play of what the couple

Been up to.

2022, she smuggled

Fusarium graminarum

Through the san francisco airpor

Inside her shoes.

The couple knew well how destruc

The fungus could be since

Their research began years earli

In china.

They were coming from a universi

That is affiliated with not

Only the chinese communist party

But the chinese military.

They did extensive research, the

Wrote papers, and then

They came over here.

The pair flew under the radar fo

Years, all while working for

The chinese government.

What is so alarming is

That the university of michigan

No idea what's going on in this

Lab the entire time.

They don't know that the permits

Have not been obtained.

Those students were

Doing something they knew they

Should not be doing.

That automatically tells me that

Their intent was not great.

Somebody that's trying to pursue

The nobility of science

Tells people and then

Are very open about it, and

They're not sneaking things

Into the united states or anywhe

Else. I'm a former military

Intelligence officer.

If you're already hiding somethi

There's a reason you're hiding I

The fungus is already known to

The usda because it's found

In america.

If you imagine someone has

Developed, genetically

Modified, or

In a laboratory, forced it

To defeat our

Normal countermeasures,

And then they release that.

Something like wheat blast would

Just blow through our crops.

Imagine walking into

Grocery stores and seeing no

Bread and nothing else

That might have wheat in it, eve

An ingredient.

It would have such a devastating

Impact on the country.

George recently went before

Congress, warning that the

Bioterrorism threat the country

Faces

Very real.

When it comes to food and

Agriculture you're not talking a

Something that would be constrai

Like if we just dumped

Some chemicals somewhere.

It would spread it would spread

Throughout the united states and

Then not only affect our economi

And national security here but I

Would affect economic and nation

Security throughout the world.

Agriculture comprises a large

Part of the american economy.

It's getting smaller, but

Nonetheless, it's critical,

Because everybody eats.

China is introducing invasive

Species, as well as

Pathogens that will attack

Agriculture, crops,

Livestock, and indeed, humans as

Well.

I believe that china is waging a

Campaign of agroterrorism agains

The united states.

After gian's arrest,

The fbi dug into her computer

And made a shocking

Discovery.

We know that she had a written

Loyalty pledge to the chinese

Communist party that she did whi

She was working at the universit

Michigan.

We've got to remember that china

2017 national intelligence

Law requires every chinese

National to spy if

Demanded.

No chinese entity may disobey

A order from the communist party

And that would include chinese

Nationals who are working in the

United states.

It's not as if they don't have

Laboratories and universities in

China. So there's some reason

They're here.

There's some that they're hiding

What they're doing.

There's reason they were smuggli

Something in.

Jian spent five months in

Jail before she was sent back

To china.

Her boyfriend was sent immediate

After he was caught.

All eyes were on the university.

How was it possible that a

Devastating pathogen had been

Smuggled into one of u of m's

Labs and no one knew about it.

Whatever system the university o

Michigan has in place to monitor

What's happening in these variou

Stem facilities doesn't

Work.

The us department of education

Decided to follow the money.

It opened an investigation into

School's funding, accusing the

University of being incomplete,

Inaccurate and untimely

When it came to public disclosur

Surrounding funding from foreign

Sources.

The university of michigan has v

Strong financial

Incentives to bring in

Chinese nationals.

They had a formal relationship w

A very problematic

Chinese university that had

Government and military connecti

And it was only after congressio

Pressure that they severed

That formal academic relationshi

But just a few months later, in

November of 2025,

It happened again.

Three chinese research scholars

Working at the university of

Michigan laboratories were buste

After allegedly attempting to

Smuggle illegal biological

Materials into the u.S.

Under the guise of research.

Now some of the packages include

Genetically modified roundworm

Shipped from a student in

Wuhan.

Miss han was a

Student at hust university

In wuhan.

While she was working at that

Government and military affiliat

University, she sent four

Different shipments of roundworm

Into the united states.

The smuggled materials went to t

Professors working at the univer

Of michigan.

She later applied for a j-1

Visa to work at the university

Herself.

When she applied, she

Was being funded by the

Chinese communist party.

And then she came over after

The university of michigan sent

An acceptance letter saying they

Going to pay her $41,000 a

Year to come work with those

Professors at the university

Of michigan's life sciences

Institute.

With a promise to work at the

University on taxpayer dollars,

Han accepted the position.

But immediate red flags were rai

When she arrived because she

Had wiped her phone just days

Earlier.

She was then investigated and

Confessed to having smuggled

In materials on four prior

Occasions.

Two other chinese national

Researchers were charged with

Helping han, and a third was

Charged with making false

Statements.

While the fungus had the power t

Destroy crops, the roundworms

Were different.

The roundworms are largely a veh

To do genetic studies.

The ways that they were smugglin

Them into the country were very

Clever.

They would put dried out plasmid

On paper and make it look

Like they were doing a puzzle or

Game.

And then those plasmid could

Be revitalized with water

Later on and used in research.

So they would hide them inside b

Or in shoes in order

To ship them into our country.

I believe that really what we've

Here is just part of a determine

Program to take down

American agriculture.

The problem here is that as

Americans we think we're at peac

But china has a doctrine of

Unrestricted warfare.

They believe that they're at war

With the united states.

After these two cases,

Congress sent a letter asking

That the university of michigan

Investigate what is going on

With these research labs.

As part of the investigation,

The university went to talk to t

Other chinese nationals working

In their laboratories.

And when they refused to answer

Questions, the university

Revoked their visas.

But didn't notify the government

Days and days, it may have even

Weeks.

So by the time that university

Of michigan had notified the

Government, those three defendan

Were in the wind.

Luckily, the fbi was

Able to catch up with them at jf

Airport, as they tried to board

Plane and flee back to china.

They were arrested and charged,

But those charges would later be

Dismissed.

Lawmakers wanted answers.

And just a few months later, the

University's interim president,

Domenico grasso, went before

A congressional house committee.

Are there currently any chinese

Nationals at michigan involved I

Research funded by either the

Department of war or any federal

Agency?

We have many

Chinese students and scholars on

Our campus.

I don't know what all their proj

Are.

In the last five years, $86

Million of

The university's foreign gifts a

Contracts reports were submitted

Late.

Can you explain how such a high

Amount of foreign funds were not

Reported correctly?

We've improved our procedures an

Protocols, and now we're catchin

Things that we were not reportin

What harm does the take

Money first, ask questions

Later approach half of

Our students and our national

Security? We do not have any

Policy that resembles take money

First, and ask questions, later.

We are very committed to our

National secure.

The enemy, I think we could call

Just has to be right once.

And the university of michigan I

Far from alone.

In the same congressional hearin

Representatives from the univers

Of florida and stanford said

They were battling the same enem

My name is elsa johnson.

I'm a junior at stanford univers

Studying east asian studies with

Focus on china.

I'm here because I was personall

Targeted by a suspected agent of

The chinese communist party.

In the spring of my freshman yea

Began working as a research

Assistant at the hoover institut

That summer, a man calling himse

Charles chen reached out to me o

Social media.

Over the following weeks, he ask

Detailed questions about my

Background, offered to for

A trip to china.

Sent me a flight itinerary to

Shanghai, and pressured me to

Move our conversation to wechat,

An app that is monitored by the

This is a widespread problem.

These smuggling cases were just

Tip of the iceberg.

We had five u of m students who

Were chinese nationals who were

Caught spying and taking photogr

At a military base about

Two hours away from here.

Has the university conducted a

Full audit to determine what

Intellectual property or federal

Funded research was compromised?

What they did was at camp grayli

Miles and miles away from campus

They were.

While they were students though,

You do an audit on whether there

Was any access to any

Research being conducted on

The university campus?

They were not researchers, they

Undergraduate students, so we

Did not do an audit.

Asha george says the time to

Act is now.

We have to accept that this is

A threat, and it is a real threa

And it a present threat.

We have enjoyed a high

Level of peace, just

Like we have enjoyed a high-leve

Health.

And when your health is really h

That's not the time when people

All motivated to go

Do something about the terrorist

Threat or whatever, because they

Just don't believe it's a thing.

And the world has already gotten

Taste of what can happen when

Biological pathogens take hold.

Covid-19 pandemic reaches a grim

Milestone with the number of cas

Exceeding 1 million worldwide.

And what the chinese learned fro

Covid-19 could be the

Driving force behind sending

Researchers to america.

Coming to the university of

Michigan.

They're working on things that t

Cannot work on in china, and

We're paying for it.

That's one of the incentives.

But it could also be, we have a

Dangerous product, I don't want

Work on it in wuhan, I'll bring

To america's heartland.

And if there's any risk,

America can deal with the risk.

We're under attack.

We're under attack from a societ

Which is far weaker than ours.

But we could lose our country

Because we are not defending

It with the vigor and determinat

That is necessary.

So until we recognize what

Is occurring, we are

At great risk.

It's happened.

Over and over, and it could be

Happening right now.

But how do you stop an enemy tha

Trying to bombard our airports,

Post offices and ports every

Single day?

Even if you're 100%

On the passengers coming in,

You also have to be 100% on

Everything that's being shipped

From china or through a third-pa

Country.

When we had the anthrax events I

2001, we upped

Our game in terms of

Sensors and detectors and stuff

The u.S. Mail system.

But none of this can work if

The university partners are

Not doing their job.

The united states has an open

Society, and so therefore it's v

Easy to smuggle something into

Our country.

And now, the chinese are hoping,

Unsuspecting americans will

Do their dirty work for them.

In 2020,

Americans were sent seeds from c

Unsolicited.

Seed packets have been sent to

Several people in the valley and

Around the country.

Sometimes it appears the package

Contains jewelry.

This, I think, was an attempt to

Plant invasive species in all

50 states.

The department of agriculture fo

That there were more than 1,100

Packets of seeds sent

To texans unsolicited.

So this is not something that

Was just, oh,

Criminals in china doing this.

They were sending it through the

Chinese post that's heavily

Monitored by the chinese regime.

This was not just texas in 2025.

It was also ohio, new mexico,

And alabama.

And there could have been other

States that we don't know of.

So this was a persistent

Plan. It was obviously well

Organized.

Every day, new signs of

Chinese infiltration are croppin

Up, and not just in

Our farmland.

Authorities in las vegas are

Investigating a suspected

Chinese-linked bio lab

In the city of las vegas,

Collecting more than 1,000 piece

Evidence, including biological

Materials and several vials

Of quote unknown liquids.

Democrat eileen wang

Has resigned from her role

As mayor of arcadia, california.

She admitted to being a chinese

Agent.

Chang says our complacency

As a nation is what

Could ultimately destroy us.

Even after the bombing of the no

Tower of the world trade center

1993,

We paid no attention to osama

Bin laden.

We didn't pay attention until on

Day he killed 2,977

Americans.

And then we said, how could that

Have happened?

But we had to know,

We should have known.

It's just in the american charac

I think there are ways we can

Protect ourselves from these

Attacks. We need to give more mo

To the intelligence community

And the federal law enforcement

Community so that they can conti

To get the intelligence and

Information we need to

Figure out what's going on.

The problem with the terrorist

Situation is

That we're living on borrowed ti

But I think we

Can rally.

We are americans.

We are human beings.

I think we can. I think that we

Protect ourselves.

The most dangerous biological

Threats move silently,

Crossing borders and spreading

Without any warning.

But so do knowledge, cooperation

And resilience.

The future of biodefense may not

Be determined by what we fear,

But how prepared we choose

To be.

Thanks for watching.