Trump Administration Demands Release of U.S. Citizen ‘Wrongfully’ Detained in China

Min Zin, a U.S. citizen who was working in Myanmar, was detained.

The U.S. and Chinese flags

China’s foreign ministry confirmed early Friday that U.S. citizen Min Zin had been arrested, as he was suspected of spying and endangering Chinese national security. Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo

The State Department has called for the immediate release of a U.S. citizen arrested in China on spying charges — a detainment that the department declared “wrongful” on Thursday.

Min Zin is a U.S. scholar who was working in Myanmar and leading a think tank focused on the country. Zin’s research focuses on democratization, and he was a student activist in 1988 during Myanmar’s pro-democracy movement.

In June, he traveled to Yunnan province in China, which borders Myanmar, for an academic conference. He was invited by the Chinese government.