Rubio designates American academic Min Zin as wrongfully detained in China

China accuses Min Zin of espionage and endangering China’s national security

Secretary of State Marco Rubio designated U.S. citizen Min Zin as wrongfully detained in China on Thursday, according to a State Department release. Zin, the founder and executive director of the Institute for Strategy and Policy – Myanmar and a Ph.D. candidate at UC Berkeley, was detained on June 3 in Yunnan province after traveling to attend an academic conference to which the Chinese government had invited him.

Assistant Secretary of State Dylan Johnson announced the designation in a statement. “The safety and security of U.S. citizens is the State Department’s top priority,” the statement said. “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.”

China’s foreign ministry said Zin is being held on suspicion of “engaging in espionage and endangering China’s national security.” Chinese authorities said the U.S. consulate in Guangzhou had been notified of the case.

Zin’s brother, Aung Maw Zin, rejected the espionage allegation in a statement Thursday. “The accusations of the local security services in Yunnan that Min Zin was engaged in espionage could not be further from the truth,” he said. Aung Maw Zin added that his brother “believes that China plays a critical role in ending the civil war in Burma and valued the opportunity to engage in peer-to-peer learning with colleagues.”

Aung Maw Zin said the family is grateful to President Donald Trump and Rubio “for moving swiftly to designate Zin as wrongfully detained.”

The Institute for Strategy and Policy – Myanmar, the institute Min Zin founded, called for his “immediate and unconditional release.” “Academic and research organizations such as ISP-Myanmar should be able to conduct research freely and without fear of intimidation,” the organization said. ISP-Myanmar said Zin had been traveling to the city of Kunming in Yunnan province for an academic workshop when he was detained.

Min Zin is the second American academic the State Department has designated as wrongfully detained in China in recent months. Dr. Youlin Chen was the earlier case. Chen’s wife, Dr. Yufang Rong, said Thursday that she welcomed the designation for Min Zin.

“I am glad to see that Secretary Rubio has designated Min Zin as a wrongful detainee,” Rong said. “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.”

According to his brother, Min Zin is originally from Burma, the country that became Myanmar. He left in 1988 following his leadership in student protests that year and spent seven years in hiding in Thailand before coming to the United States. He became a U.S. citizen in 2012. Aung Maw Zin said Min Zin was accepted into the Berkeley Ph.D. program despite not finishing high school.