“[In a letter to President Trump urging him to use Xi Jinping's state visit to secure the release of wrongfully detained people, including American citizen Min Zin:] Even a single mention of a detainee's name by a senior U.S. official, let alone by yourself, can significantly increase that individual's chances of clemency or improved treatment.
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Eight Days Before Xi Comes to the White House, His Wife Testifies to Congress That an American Scholar Has Been Held in China Since June — Young Kim Says Beijing "Wanted to Send a Message," Ro Khanna Calls It "Appalling," and a Bipartisan Senate Resolution Demands His Release
September 17, 2026
Sylvia Zin told the House Foreign Affairs Committee's East Asia and Pacific Subcommittee on September 17 that her husband, Myanmar scholar and UC Berkeley-affiliated researcher Min Zin, has been held by Chinese state security since June 3 on unspecified national-security allegations after arriving in Kunming for an academic workshop. The State Department has formally designated him wrongfully detained. Her testimony, alongside the son of jailed Hong Kong publisher Jimmy Lai, came eight days before President Trump is scheduled to host Xi Jinping at the White House on September 24. Subcommittee Chairwoman Rep. Young Kim (R-CA) said Beijing "wanted to send a message to those whose research inconvenienced it" by detaining Min Zin ahead of the summit, while voicing confidence Trump would secure his release. The same week, Sens. Adam Schiff (D-CA), Ed Markey (D-MA) and Ted Budd (R-NC) introduced a bipartisan resolution condemning China's "repeated pattern" of wrongfully detaining American academics. On Face the Nation the following Sunday, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) said he stood with Secretary of State Rubio on the case and called the detention of Americans over what they say or research "appalling" and "unacceptable." The case adds another point of friction to a US-China relationship already strained ahead of the Trump-Xi meeting.
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“[In a letter to President Trump urging him to use Xi Jinping's state visit to secure the release of wrongfully detained people, including American citizen Min Zin:] Even a single mention of a detainee's name by a senior U.S. official, let alone by yourself, can significantly increase that individual's chances of clemency or improved treatment.
“We cannot have American citizens or scholars in America be detained or disappeared because of what they say.
“The Chinese Communist Party's pattern of unjustly detaining innocent Americans on baseless allegations cannot carry on unchecked.
“China's repeated and cruel pattern of wrongful detentions of American citizens, leaving some without access to legal counsel, is nothing short of an affront to the rule of law and infringes on their rights and freedoms.
“The wrongful detainment of innocent civilians is never justifiable and should always be condemned in the strongest possible terms.
“In June, Mr. Zin was on a regular visit to China for an academic conference. But Beijing wanted to send a message to those whose research inconvenienced it, and detained Mr. Zin ahead of the upcoming Trump-Xi summit. So I hope to see Mr. Zin free soon, and I thank President Trump for his ongoing efforts to bring wrongfully detained Americans home.