BANGKOK – An American academic known for his work on Myanmar and Chinese foreign policy has been detained by Chinese authorities on charges of espionage, as confirmed by China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday.
The individual, Min Zin, is accused of “participating in espionage activities that threaten China’s national security,” according to Lin Jian, a spokesperson for the foreign ministry.
Such arrests of U.S. citizens on charges related to national security are rare in China. This incident occurs just weeks after a meeting in Beijing between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, where both leaders expressed a desire to improve their often strained bilateral relations.
A Burmese activist, who preferred to remain anonymous due to concerns about potential government backlash, reported that Min Zin vanished on June 3 after attending a conference in Kunming, located in China’s Yunnan province. The activist noted that Min Zin had previously traveled to China on numerous occasions without incident.
Min Zin has a background as a student activist during Myanmar’s 1988 pro-democracy uprising, a movement that was met with military action by the government at the time. He later sought asylum in the United States. The activist clarified that Min Zin is not currently involved in any direct activism.
Min Zin is the founder of a think tank called ISP Myanmar, which in recent years has been writing about Chinese foreign policy and trade with Myanmar, located on China’s southwest border. The think tank was involved in regular exchanges with Chinese think tanks, and had published on issues such as Myanmar’s rare earth exports to China.
Min Zin is also a Ph.D candidate at the University of California, Berkeley.
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