When a Michigan graduate student from China was charged in June in the smuggling of restricted agricultural materials like seeds and a potentially dangerous fungus into the United States, a federal prosecutor said her actions raised “the gravest national security concerns.”

当一名来自中国的密歇根大学研究生今年6月被指控将受限农业材料——如种子和一种可能具有危害性的真菌——走私到美国时，一位联邦检察官表示，她的行为引发了“最严重的国家安全关切”。

A congressional committee chairman urged the University of Michigan, where the student did her research, to investigate its labs, and went on to accuse China of “a broader, coordinated campaign targeting universities across the country.”

一位国会委员会主席指责中国正在开展“针对全美高校的广泛协同行动”，并敦促该研究生所在的密歇根大学对其实验室展开调查。

But when the student, Yunqing Jian, pleaded guilty earlier this month, she said she had simply been trying to speed up her research into crop protection. The prosecution conceded that it could not prove she had ill intent, though citing the potential for “devastating harm,” it asked a judge for a two-year prison term.

但在本月早些时候，这位名叫简云晴（音）的学生认罪时表示，她只是想加快自己在作物保护领域的研究。检方承认无法证明她有恶意，但仍以“可能造成严重伤害”为由，要求法官判处她两年监禁。

The judge instead sentenced Ms. Jian to time served — five months — and allowed her to return to China.

法官最终仅判处她已服刑期——5个月——并允许她返回中国。

However muted the denouement of the case, some lawmakers and foreign policy experts say it, as well as several other cases against Chinese researchers in the United States, highlight a national security threat posed by ties between American universities and institutions with Chinese scientists.

尽管此案以相对平淡的方式结束，但一些国会议员和外交政策专家表示，该案以及其他几起针对在美中国研究人员的案件凸显了美国学术界与中国科学家密切联系所构成的国家安全威胁。

American schools and scientific institutions are being pressed to sever ties with Chinese counterparts. Congress is considering restricting these links. And weeks before Ms. Jian, 33, was charged, the federal government vowed to “aggressively revoke” visas for Chinese students, though President Trump later backtracked.

美国学校和科研机构正面临切断与中国同行联系的压力。国会正在考虑限制此类联系。在33岁的简云晴被起诉几周前，联邦政府曾宣称要“积极撤销”中国学生的签证，不过特朗普总统后来收回了这一政策。

More than 275,000 students from China attended school in the United States last year, second only to the number of students from India. Warnings about the potential dangers posed by some foreign students go back decades, but even some who see risks say that the focus on China has been at times cynical and political.

 去年有超过27.5万名中国学生在美国就读，人数仅次于印度学生。关于某些外国学生可能构成危险的警告已持续数十年，但即使是看到风险的人也认为，对中国的关注有时带有恶意揣测和政治色彩。

Ms. Jian’s lawyer spoke of “political hysteria” and prejudice against Chinese students.

简云晴的律师提到了针对中国学生的“政治歇斯底里”和偏见。

In a statement after the sentencing, Jerome F. Gorgon Jr., the interim U.S. attorney in Detroit, called Ms. Jian’s conviction “a small but important measure against secret biological threats from China.”

 底特律临时联邦检察官杰罗姆·戈登二世在判决后发表声明，称简云晴被定罪是“对中国秘密生物威胁采取的一项虽小但重要的措施”。

在针对两名中国研究人员的刑事诉讼文件中包含了一张被鉴定为禾谷镰刀菌的病原体图片。

Pathogens and parasites

 病原体与寄生虫

Ms. Jian’s smuggling took place when she was working as a postdoctoral fellow at a University of Michigan lab, according to investigators. It came to light after a colleague and boyfriend, Zunyong Liu, 34, flew into Detroit and was found to be transporting the fungus.

根据调查人员透露，简云晴的偷带行为发生在她作为密歇根大学实验室博士后研究员期间。此事因其伴侣、34岁的刘尊永（音）飞抵底特律时被发现携带该真菌而曝光。

As part of her guilty plea, Ms. Jian admitted hiding seeds in her boots in a “very small” baggie before traveling to the United States from China, as well as sneaking in other material. She also admitted discussing the best way for Mr. Liu, who is believed to be in China, to smuggle in the fungus.

作为认罪协议的一部分，简云晴承认在从中国飞往美国前，将种子放在一个“很小的”塑料袋藏在靴子里，还偷运了其他材料。她还承认与据信目前在中国的刘尊永讨论了偷带真菌的最佳方式。

Both admitted lying to investigators about their actions.

两人均承认向调查人员撒谎。

There remains some debate how much danger, if any, their actions posed.

他们的行为究竟构成多大危险——如果有的话——仍存在争议。

“The fungal strain did not present any appreciable danger of infestation or disease, let alone a ‘significant risk,’” Ms. Jian’s lawyer argued in a sentencing memo.

简云晴的律师在量刑备忘录中辩称：“该真菌菌株并不构成任何值得关注的侵染或疾病风险，更谈不上‘重大风险’。”

The fungus, Fusarium graminearum, can cause severe disease in wheat and other crops and can harm humans and animals, but it was not new to the United States, or even to Michigan, experts say.

 专家表示，这种名为禾谷镰刀菌的真菌可导致小麦等作物出现严重病害，也可能危害人类和动物，但它在美国早已存在，甚至密西根就有。

Both scientists worked on research to reduce crop disease, and Ms. Jian’s colleagues and professors at the lab attested in court documents to her collegiality and valuable work contributions. They said the offenses she was charged with appeared out of character.

两名科学家均从事减少作物病害的研究，简云晴在实验室的同事和教授都作证说她为人友善、贡献巨大，他们认为她被指控的罪行与她的性格完全不符。

The Chinese Consulate in Chicago, responding to the smuggling charges against Ms. Jian, said that China required its citizens overseas “to strictly abide by local laws and regulations, including those related to entry and exit.” But it said it “firmly opposes the U.S.’s political manipulation of related cases.”

中国驻芝加哥总领事馆在回应简云晴的偷带指控时表示，中国要求海外公民“严格遵守当地法律法规，包括出入境相关规定”。但同时表示“坚决反对美方对相关案件的政治操弄”。

Zichen Wang, a research fellow at the Center for China and Globalization, a think tank in Beijing, called the case “overblown.” Writing in his newsletter, Pekingnology, in July, he said that Ms. Jian’s failure to declare the biological materials appeared to be unethical and illegal, but not a potential bioterror threat, as the American authorities initially described it.

北京全球化智库研究员王子辰认为此案被“夸大”。他在7月的《Pekingnology》通讯中写道，简云晴未申报生物材料的行为确实不道德且违法，但并不像美国当局最初描述的那样构成潜在生物恐怖威胁。

Miles Yu, director of the China Center at the Hudson Institute, a think tank in Washington, said in an interview that extra vigilance about the activities of Chinese students and scientists was warranted. Researchers and other travelers bringing in biological materials raises concerns generally, Mr. Yu said, but he said he was particularly concerned by materials from China because of what he described as the country’s “abysmal lack of biosafety standards.”

华盛顿哈德逊研究所中国中心主任余茂春在接受采访时表示，对中国学生和科学家的活动保持额外警惕是有必要的。他表示，研究人员和其他旅客携带生物材料本身就会引发担忧，但他特别担心来自中国的材料，因为中国“生物安全标准极度缺失”。

Given the risk to the public, he said, even if a researcher is just trying to avoid a bureaucratic burden, bringing in restricted materials is a “matter of national security.”

他表示，鉴于对公众构成的风险，即使研究人员只是想规避行政程序，携带受限材料也属于“国家安全问题”。

The U.S. attorney’s office in Detroit is prosecuting several other similar cases.

底特律联邦检察官办公室正在处理其他几起类似案件。

Earlier this month, three Chinese researchers working in a University of Michigan lab were charged in connection with the investigation of another scientist from China arrested with the undeclared DNA of roundworms, a parasite used in research. That scientist pleaded no contest to the charges and was deported in September, prosecutors say.

本月早些时候，一名中国科学家未申报携带用于研究的线虫DNA寄生虫被捕，受本案牵连，三名在密歇根大学实验室工作的中国研究人员被起诉。检察官称，该科学家对指控表示不抗辩，并于9月被驱逐出境。

“Allegedly attempting to smuggle biological materials under the guise of ‘research’ is a serious crime that threatens America’s national and agricultural security,” the U.S. attorney general, Pam Bondi, said in a statement announcing the new charges this month.

美国司法部长帕姆·邦迪在本月宣布新指控的声明中说：“以‘科研’为幌子企图偷带生物材料是一项严重罪行，威胁着美国的国家和农业安全。”

密歇根州共和党众议员约翰·穆勒纳尔指责中国以美国大学为目标进行间谍活动。

Politics and Bureaucracy

 政治与官僚主义

The lawmaker who spoke out about the Jian case, Representative John Moolenaar, Republican of Michigan, heads the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. His committee has been pressuring schools to sever ties with Chinese institutions, citing national security risks.

就简云晴案发表公开言论的密歇根州共和党众议员约翰·穆勒纳尔是众议院中共问题特设委员会主席。该委员会以国家安全风险为由，持续向高校施压要求切断与中方机构的联系。

In January, the University of Michigan, which did not respond to a request for comment, said it would shut down a joint institute with a Chinese school after the committee “strongly encouraged” it to do so. About 10 U.S. universities have taken similar actions under pressure.

密歇根大学未回应置评请求，校方在1月表示，将在该委员会“强烈建议”下关闭与一所中国学校的联合研究所。目前约有10所美国大学在压力下采取了类似行动。

Mr. Moolenaar has also introduced a bill to deny government funding to scientists who work with anyone “affiliated with a hostile foreign entity,” prohibiting joint research, papers and advising activities.

穆勒纳尔还提出了一项法案，拒绝向与“敌对外国实体”有关联的科学家提供政府资金，禁止联合研究、合作论文和学术指导活动。

Some academics and advocacy groups have resisted this move, arguing it would harm “the thriving research ecosystem that laid the foundation for American competitiveness and innovation.” And the congressman’s strong stance on Chinese students now seems at odds with that of the Trump administration.

 一些学者和倡导团体抵制这一举措，认为这将损害“为美国竞争力和创新奠定基础的繁荣研究生态系统”。而这位议员对中国学生的强硬立场现在似乎与特朗普政府相左。

Appearing to shift course, Mr. Trump, in an interview with the Fox News host Laura Ingraham, recently said that denying visas to Chinese students would put “half” of American colleges “out of business.” He says that their tuition is critical to schools and that the dangers have been overstated.

特朗普在接受福克斯新闻主持人劳拉·英格拉恩采访时似乎改变了立场，他说拒绝中国学生签证会让美国“一半的”大学“倒闭”。他表示，这些学生的学费对学校至关重要，危险被夸大了。

Mr. Trump now speaks of allowing 600,000 Chinese student visas, dismissing critics’ concerns. Students from many countries, he suggested, may pose security risks. “Do you think the French are better?” he asked.

特朗普现在谈到要允许60万中国学生签证，并对批评者的担忧不以为然。他表示，许多国家的学生都可能构成安全风险。“你觉得法国人就更好吗？”他反问。