The wife of a US scholar imprisoned in China on charges of spying and endangering national security has requested President Donald Trump to address her husband's case during his upcoming meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the White House. U Min Zin, director of a think tank focused on Myanmar, was arrested on June 3 after attending an academic conference in Kunming, China. Sylvia Zin expressed her hope that President Trump would raise her husband's case with President Xi during the summit scheduled for next week. Xi is expected to arrive in Washington, DC for a state visit on Wednesday, following his previous meeting with Trump in Beijing in May.
Ahead of the meeting, families of prisoners held in China have traveled to the US capital to advocate for their release. Sylvia Zin testified before the House Foreign Affairs Committee's East Asia and Pacific Subcommittee on Wednesday during a hearing titled "Lives, Not Leverage: The Long Arm of China and North Korea's Repression." In her remarks, she expressed confidence that Trump could also facilitate the release of Chen Youlin, a US seismologist imprisoned in China for two years.
Zin stated, "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 citizens." Congresswoman Young Kim, chairwoman of the subcommittee, warned that Americans traveling to China could be taken hostage as leverage in diplomatic negotiations. She noted that Beijing's actions aimed to send a message to those whose research posed challenges to its interests, specifically referencing Min Zin's detention ahead of the Trump-Xi summit.
Min Zin, a student activist during Myanmar's 1988 pro-democracy movement, leads the Myanmar Institute for Strategic and Policy Studies (ISP-Myanmar), which examines China's role and influence in Myanmar. The son of Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai also urged Trump to advocate for his father's release. Previously, Trump mentioned that Xi indicated the case would be challenging.
A senior White House official, speaking anonymously, stated, "Resolving the wrongful detentions of US citizens is always a top priority for the President." The US State Department designated U Min Zin and Chen Youlin as being "wrongfully detained" in China last month, allowing their cases to be transferred to the office of the Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs, which can allocate more resources for their release.
Zin, residing in Thailand, informed the committee that she has not been able to communicate with her husband while he is in jail, stating, "Every month, we anxiously await his consular visits because they reassure us that he is alive." She added that US officials had informed her that Min Zin faced up to six hours of daily interrogations upon his arrival in jail. "I'm trying to be strong for our daughter, but I'm constantly wondering if he's OK and how to get him back home to us," she said. In a previous meeting between Trump and Xi, Trump successfully advocated for the release of another American, underground church leader Jin Mingri, who was freed two months after the request.