US Declares American Held by China Wrongfully Detained
US Declares American Held by China Wrongfully Detained
The News
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has formally designated American citizen Min Zin, held by China since June, as wrongfully detained — making his release a top US diplomatic priority.
"Secretary Rubio has formally designated U.S. citizen Min Zin as wrongfully detained," Dylan Johnson, assistant secretary of state for global public affairs, said Thursday on X. "We call on Beijing to release all U.S. citizens arbitrarily detained or exit banned in China."
The determination lands about five weeks before President Trump is set to host Chinese President Xi Jinping at the White House, a visit scheduled for September 24.
Who He Is
Min Zin is the founder and executive director of the Institute for Strategy and Policy – Myanmar, a research group that moved abroad after the 2021 military coup that ousted the elected government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
He was a student activist in Myanmar's 1988 pro-democracy protests and earned a political science degree at the University of California, Berkeley. ISP-Myanmar says he is a PhD candidate in Berkeley's Travers Department of Political Science.
Before his arrest he lived in Thailand and spent time in Myanmar and the United States.
Timeline
Min Zin flies to Yunnan province after an invitation from the Chinese government to attend a conference in Kunming, traveling on a valid Chinese visa he had used before for academic gatherings. He is taken inside the airport terminal, according to a senior State Department official.
His family and colleagues lose contact and do not know where he is, the official said: "One minute his colleagues and family were engaging with him on the phone... and the next minute communication was lost."
Authorities in Yunnan notify the US embassy that he is under criminal investigation for allegedly "endangering (China's) national security." Beijing publicly confirms the arrest, with foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian saying he is held on suspicion "of engaging in espionage and endangering China's national security," without further detail. The arrest comes weeks after Trump's summit in Beijing with Xi, which the president called an "incredible visit."
Rubio designates him wrongfully detained. The State Department official said that for nearly 11 weeks he has faced "repeated interrogations, isolation and detention conditions."
Reactions
"The safety and security of U.S. citizens globally is President Trump's top priority, and the president has been clear that China must treat U.S. citizens with respect – and those wrongfully detained or under exit bans must be released," the senior State Department official said.
China's embassy in Washington has said the case is being handled properly. Embassy spokesman Liu Pengyu told CBS News in June that Min Zin's "legitimate rights have been fully guaranteed." Chinese officials maintain all such cases follow national law and deny any wrongful detentions.
ISP-Myanmar "calls for his immediate and unconditional release," saying research organizations "should be able to conduct research freely and without fear of intimidation."
Min Zin is the second American academic designated wrongfully detained in recent months. The first was Youlin Chen, a Chinese-born American seismologist from Boston still in Chinese custody. His wife, Dr. Yufang Rong, welcomed Thursday's move: "It meant a great deal to me when my husband, Youlin Chen, was designated because it means that his freedom is a priority for the Trump Administration. I hope it gives the same comfort to Min Zin and his family."
What's Next
Human rights groups have pressed the administration to secure Min Zin's release before Xi arrives at the White House on September 24, and supporters — including former Trump administration officials — have asked Trump to raise the case directly with Chinese leadership.
The wrongful-detention designation shifts the case to the State Department's hostage affairs machinery, which treats securing release as a diplomatic priority rather than a routine consular matter. China has not signaled any change in his status.
More
Advocacy organizations estimate that anywhere from a dozen to several hundred Americans are currently held unlawfully or blocked from leaving China under exit bans. Rights campaigners argue Beijing uses detained foreign nationals as leverage in negotiations — a practice they call "hostage diplomacy."
China has publicly backed Myanmar's military-installed leadership, which took power after an election that excluded major opposition parties, including Suu Kyi's movement — the subject Min Zin's institute researches.
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