A Chinese woman has been arrested and charged with trying to steal patented US seed technology as part of a plot to smuggle types of specialized corn from farm fields in the US Midwest for use in China, authorities said on Wednesday.
The woman, Mo Yun (莫雲), is married to the founder and chairman of a Chinese conglomerate that runs a corn seed subsidiary. She and her brother, Mo Hailong (莫海龍), who also goes by the name Robert Mo, worked together and with several others from China to steal the valuable corn seed from Iowa and Illinois, law enforcement officials said.
Mo Yun was arrested on Tuesday in Los Angeles, while Mo Hailong was indicted and arrested in December last year. His trial is set for Dec. 1. Both are charged with conspiracy to steal trade secrets in US District Court in Iowa.
SEEDLINGS
The conspirators dug up corn seedlings from fields and stole mature ears of corn, and also unlawfully obtained packaged corn seed, according to court documents.
At one point in 2012, Mo Hailong and other suspected co-conspirators attempted to ship about 113kg of corn seed via Federal Express to Hong Kong, according to prosecutors.
The plot also included hiding stolen corn seed in boxes of microwave popcorn packed in luggage and checked on a flight from Chicago to Beijing, China, court documents state.
Mo Hailong is director of the international business of the Beijing Dabeinong Technology Group Co, a part of DBN Group, which is run by Shao Genhuo (邵根伙). DBN operates 67 different subsidiaries, including a corn seed subsidiary called Beijing Kings Nower Seed, according to US Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa Nicholas Klinefeldt.
Mo Yun is married to Shao Genhuo, Klinefeldt said.
Other defendants include Li Shaoming (李紹明), chief operating officer of Beijing Kings Nower Seed; Wang Lei (王磊), vice chairman of Beijing Kings Nower Seed; and Ye Jian (葉健), a research manager for Beijing Kings Nower Seed, court documents show. Wang Hongwei, a resident of Canada who was born in China, is also a defendant.
‘VICTIMS’
Both Iowa-based DuPont Pioneer, the agricultural unit of DuPont, and Missouri-based Monsanto Co, two of the world’s largest agricultural seed companies, were victims of the thefts and have said they are cooperating with federal authorities in the ongoing probe.
The investigation began after DuPont Pioneer security staff detected suspicious activity in fields where the company was testing new types of seed and notified authorities.
Both Monsanto and DuPont develop and sell genetically altered seeds that are coveted by many farmers because they help farmers fight insect and weed problems, and can yield more in adverse growing conditions.
However, the seed technology is patented and the seeds are higher priced than conventional seeds.
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese