The State Department has called for the immediate release of a U.S. citizen arrested in China on spying charges — a detainment that the department declared “wrongful” on Thursday.
Min Zin is a U.S. scholar who was working in Myanmar and leading a think tank focused on the country. Zin’s research focuses on democratization, and he was a student activist in 1988 during Myanmar’s pro-democracy movement.
In June, he traveled to Yunnan province in China, which borders Myanmar, for an academic conference. He was invited by the Chinese government.
In a press release, the State Department said there are now two U.S. citizens who have been “wrongfully detained” in China: Zin and Dr. Youlin Chen. Chen, who is from Boston, has been detained for two years without trial, according to his family. He was declared a wrongful detainee in March by the State Department, and in May, Trump brought up Chen’s case to Chinese leader Xi Jinping, but nothing was resolved. Chen was a U.S. seismologist tracking nuclear tests who was also detained on espionage charges.
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“The safety and security of U.S. citizens is the State Department’s top priority. We will continue to advocate for Mr. Zin and call for the release of all U.S. citizens who are arbitrarily detained or exit banned in China,” the department said in the release.
China’s foreign ministry confirmed early Friday that Zin had been arrested, as he was suspected of spying and endangering Chinese national security.
The Chinese Embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Institute for Strategy and Policy-Myanmar, which Min helped found, said it welcomes the State Department’s designation of Min’s detainment as wrongful.
“We humbly ask that the US government continues to keep Min Zin’s case as a top priority, particularly ahead of President Xi’s visit to meet with President Trump next month, and that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) facilitate his immediate and unconditional release,” the institute said in a statement. “We sincerely hope he can reunite with his family and team soon.”
President Donald Trump is set to meet with Xi in D.C. on Sept. 24 — the second meeting in four months between the two. They met in Beijing in May.
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