UK – Daily Mail, Sept. 13, 2026
A US citizen and scholar who vanished shortly after traveling to China has been designated as ‘wrongfully detained.’
Min Zin, a Myanmar scholar, was invited to Yunnan by a professor to attend a workshop on economic cooperation. But after landing on June 3, he suddenly disappeared, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Min Zin sent his family a text in the afternoon: ‘Just landed in Kunming.’ They say they have not been in contact with him since he sent the message.
On June 5, Sylvia, Min Zin’s wife, was told by the US Consulate in Guangzhou that he had been detained in Yunnan province.
The scholar is accused of endangering Chinese national security. This comes just weeks before President Trump is scheduled to welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping to the White House, on September 24.
‘Secretary Rubio has determined that US citizen Min Zin is wrongfully detained in China,’ the US Department of State said in a press release.
‘This follows an extensive review of the circumstances surrounding his June 3 detention in Yunnan, China, where Mr Zin had traveled to attend an academic conference at the invitation of the Chinese government,’ the spokesperson added.
While details of Min Zin’s detention remain unclear, officials believe his past as a Myanmar student activist and his US-funded academic work may have drawn eyes from Chinese security officials.
