U.S. Designates Scholar Min Zin Wrongfully Detained in China

The United States formally designated American scholar Min Zin as wrongfully detained by China on Thursday, August 20, 2026, escalating pressure for his release just weeks before President Donald Trump is scheduled to host Chinese President Xi Jinping at the White House. Secretary of State Marco Rubio made the determination after a review of the case, according to a State Department announcement.

Min Zin, a U.S. citizen and executive director of the Institute for Strategy and Policy Myanmar, was detained on June 3 at Kunming airport in Yunnan province shortly after arriving for an academic conference he was invited to attend by the Chinese government. He is the second American the State Department currently considers wrongfully detained in China, alongside Dr. Youlin Chen, a seismologist detained in 2024.

A senior State Department official described the circumstances of Min Zin's detention to reporters, noting that he has been held in isolation and subjected to repeated interrogations during nearly 11 weeks in custody. The official recounted that immediately after his arrival, communication with family and colleagues was severed. "For the next 48 hours, his family and colleagues...