Chinese nationals

Tao was a tenured chemical engineering professor at KU in 2019 when he became one of the first professors arrested under the first Trump administration’s “China Initiative,” a DOJ campaign purportedly created to thwart economic espionage and intellectual property theft.

Senate Bill 17 will bar people tied to China, Iran, North Korea, or Russia from buying most Texas real estate, including farmland, homes and commercial property.

The FBI and Department of Justice hailed the arrests and charges as crucial in protecting national security and public safety. Researchers say the fungus is found in wheat and barley crops and is commonly studied.