US Declares Myanmar Scholar Min Zin Wrongfully Detained by China

The United States has formally designated Min Zin, a Myanmar scholar and American citizen, as wrongfully detained following his arrest by Chinese authorities in June. The State Department announced the decision on Thursday, elevating the case to a top priority for the administration of President Donald Trump.

Min Zin, who leads a think tank focused on Myanmar, was detained at an airport in Yunnan province on June 3. A senior State Department official said he had traveled to China on a valid visa to attend an academic conference in Kunming at the invitation of the Chinese government. The official described how Min Zin's family and colleagues lost contact with him suddenly, and for 48 hours his whereabouts were unknown.

Chinese authorities later informed the US embassy that Min Zin was under criminal investigation for endangering national security. China's foreign ministry has said he is suspected of spying. The designation, made by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, comes just weeks before President Xi Jinping is scheduled to visit the White House on September 24.

The official called on China to release Min Zin and other Americans held on what Washington considers baseless charges, including Youlin Chen, a Chinese-born American seismologist from Boston who has also been declared wrongfully detained. Rights groups have urged the US to press China on the case, arguing that Beijing has long used "hostage diplomacy" to gain leverage.

Min Zin, a former student activist in Myanmar's 1988 democracy movement, studied political science at the University of California, Berkeley. He helped establish the Institute for Strategy and Policy, which moved overseas after the 2021 military coup in Myanmar. China has publicly backed the country's new administration, which took office after a widely criticized vote.