U.S. Declares Myanmar Scholar Min Zin Wrongfully Detained in China
The United States government declared U.S. citizen Min Zin wrongfully detained after Chinese authorities arrested the Myanmar scholar on espionage charges in Kunming.
Chinese authorities detained Min Zin, a U.S. citizen and Myanmar scholar, on June 3, 2026, shortly after he arrived in Kunming for an economic cooperation workshop. Zin is currently held under residential surveillance in a designated location in Yunnan province, where he faces daily interrogations in a windowless room without formal charges.
China alleges that Zin engaged in espionage, but the U.S. government and Zin's family deny these claims. The U.S. Department of State characterized the arrest as an entrapment by Chinese security services, suggesting that Zin's previous student activism in Myanmar and his U.S.-funded academic research likely triggered the detention.
President Donald Trump has declared Zin wrongfully detained. The Trump administration expects to raise Zin's case, along with that of seismologist Youlin Chen, during an upcoming summit in Washington between Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
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