An American scholar wrongfully detained in China since June is drawing growing attention in Washington ahead of talks between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The State Department recently designated Min Zin, a U.S. citizen and prominent Myanmar scholar, as “wrongfully detained,” making his release a top U.S. priority.
Zin traveled to China in June after being invited to attend an academic conference. According to his family, Chinese authorities detained him at the airport and accused him of spying and endangering national security.
His wife, Sylvia Zin, told Scripps News the detention has upended their family’s life.
“We were going to take my daughter to the beach. I ended up taking her myself,” she said. “We were supposed to have family time. None of that happened.
Zin said her husband has missed family milestones, including celebrating his 53rd birthday with family and his daughter’s first day of high school.
“Usually he would take the morning off so that we can both drive her to school. Now we couldn't do that,” Zin said. “She performed with her band at school. He couldn't be there. Usually he will take time off of work to come see her perform. All of those are just like milestones that he's missing.”
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“I don't know what to plan for,” she added. “So now I'm doing the job of both mom and dad at home. And that's incredibly hard.”
Last week, Zin testified before Congress ahead of Trump’s talks with Xi, urging U.S. officials to press for her husband’s release.
“Knowing the president’s historic record on bringing wrongfully detained Americans home has reassured me that he will also be able to secure the swift release of Min Zin and other wrongfully detained American citizens,” she said.
Advocates and family members hope Min Zin’s case will be raised during high-level talks between Washington and Beijing this week.
“I would love for him to bring up my husband’s case, my husband’s name, to President Xi and have him just ask that he look into it and just send him home,” Sylvia Zin said of President Trump.
Human rights and academic freedom groups say Zin’s detention is especially troubling because of his scholarly work.
Clare Robinson, executive director of the Scholars at Risk Network, told Scripps News some scholars detained abroad face accusations tied to activism or political activity. But she said Zin’s case appears directly connected to his academic work.
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“Everything about him says pure academic, pure researcher,” she added. “China's detention of Min Zin has a chilling effect on U.S. academics working on China. And I very much hope that this will be raised in President Trump's meeting with President Xi.”
Sylvia Zin also rejected allegations against her husband.
“He’s a scholar. He’s an American scholar,” she said. “He is not a spy. He's not there to cause trouble.”
Zin is one of two American scholars currently designated by the U.S. government as wrongfully detained in China.
Dr. Youlin Chen, an American seismologist and academic from Boston conducted research on U.S. government-funded projects and traveled to China in October 2024 to visit family, according to the Foley Foundation. Chen was preparing to return to the U.S. when he was arrested Nov. 5, 2024, at the airport and accused of espionage tied to his U.S. government research.
Human rights groups say these cases reflect a broader pattern.
The Dui Hua Foundation, which maintains dialogue with the Chinese government, estimates that more than 200 Americans are currently subject to what China calls “coercive measures,” including detention, investigations or exit bans that prevent people from leaving the country.
John Kamm, executive director of the Dui Hua Foundation, told Scripps News several long-running detention cases involving Americans remain unresolved.
“There are lots of other cases of Americans, including two African American prisoners who have already served long sentences, who are in bad health, and they need to be released,” Kamm said.
Nelson Wells Jr., a Louisiana native and father of three who has been imprisoned in China since 2014. According to his family, Wells suffers from worsening health problems, including seizures, chronic pain, malnutrition, depression and Hepatitis C. His youngest daughter, now 12 years old, has never known her father outside of photographs.
Dawn Michelle Hunt, a Chicago-area artist and former flight attendant who has also been imprisoned in China since 2014. Her family says her health has declined while in custody and has raised concerns about her access to adequate medical care.
Kamm said such cases shape how Americans view China.
“These kind of cases affect the way the country is perceived in America,” he said, pointing to recent polling that shows many Americans view relations between the U.S. and China as adversarial.
“One of the reasons is the detention of Americans in China,” Kamm said. “My advice is the more releases you make, the better your image will be.”
Families of several Americans detained in China continue to press U.S. officials for increased diplomatic pressure to secure their loved ones’ release.
Meanwhile, earlier this month, the State Department updated its travel advisory for China, warning Americans to “exercise increased caution” because of what it called “the risk of unjust arrest or detention.”
