An international flight to Detroit took a young Chinese scientist several hours to question. He was then jailed for three months and given ...
An international flight to Detroit took a young Chinese scientist several hours to question. He was then jailed for three months and given credit for time served for illegally bringing biological material into the U.S. that wasn't a threat to the public.
Judge Matthew Leitman of the U.S. District Court agreed that government officials play a key role in stopping "bad actors" from bringing "bad stuff" into the country. He did say, though, that Chengxuan Han, who was going to work for a year at a University of Michigan lab, doesn't seem to fit that description.
The judge said, "That's the right balance to strike here," when asked why Han shouldn't be locked up for another three months as the government had asked.
Han cried as she told the judge in Mandarin that she was sorry for a lesson that was "very painful." She said that going back to China soon will "destroy" her job.
"This is where government agents are doing their jobs...." "I really don't want to hurt anyone or make things unsafe," Han said through a translation.
The U.S. Attorney's Office in Detroit has used negative language to promote the case against Han. They have even called her a "alien from Wuhan," a Chinese city that became famous as a possible source for the spread of COVID-19 around the world.
In a court document, Han's lawyer, Sara Garber, said that Han is "not some kind of Chinese agent" and that she is a "nerdy, kind, and polite academic."
Han, a woman in her late 20s, pleaded not guilty to bringing drugs and giving fake information. Authorities say she sent three packages to someone in Ann Arbor, Michigan, before she came to the U.S. One of them was a book with a secret envelope inside that had filter paper with 28 shapes on it that contained plasmids, which are naturally found in bacteria.
"Hi there!" The shapes in this letter are fun and interesting. "I hope you can find pleasure in it," Han wrote.
Han was also blamed for sending Petri dishes with C. Elegans nematode worms in them. The police said the packages weren't properly labeled and Han wasn't allowed to ship them.
Garber said, "C. Elegans is easy to get, easy to study, and doesn't do any harm."
Han's study, she said, is mostly about how living things sense light, touch, and temperature.
"This is not a case of bringing in some kind of virus or something that damage crops," the judge said. "This stuff didn't seem dangerous to me at all."
Han's case is one of two involving Chinese experts and the University of Michigan. Youqing Jian is accused of planning to bring a dangerous fungus into the U.S. with her boyfriend, who is also an expert from China. Wheat, barley, corn, and rice can all be hurt by Fusarium graminearum.
It has been studied for decades and can already be found in the East and Upper Midwest. Jian's case not yet over.