Family of Jailed US Scholar Appeals to Trump Ahead of High-Stakes Summit With Xi Jinping

The spouse of an American academic currently imprisoned in China on allegations of espionage has called on President Donald Trump to directly intervene in the case during his upcoming bilateral summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. The urgent plea comes as the White House prepares to host high-level diplomatic talks between the two world leaders in Washington next week.

Sylvia Zin, whose husband U Min Zin was detained earlier this year, testified on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, expressing deep hope that the US president would use the high-profile meeting to advocate for her husband's immediate release. She emphasized that the impending state visit presents a critical diplomatic opening to secure freedom for unjustly held Americans.

The summit follows an earlier bilateral gathering in May, when President Trump traveled to Beijing at the invitation of President Xi. The Chinese leader is scheduled to land in Washington, DC, on Wednesday for an official state visit, prompting several relatives of individuals detained inside China to converge on the nation's capital to press their cases before US lawmakers and administration officials.

Zin delivered her testimony before the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on East Asia and the Pacific. The congressional hearing, formally titled "Lives, Not Leverage: The Long Arm of China and North Korea's Repression," was convened to examine the detention of foreign nationals and the broader implications of transnational pressure by Beijing.

During the proceedings, Congresswoman Young Kim, who chairs the subcommittee, issued a stark assessment regarding the perils facing Americans traveling in the region. Kim warned that visiting China carries the distinct risk of being seized as diplomatic leverage, arguing that Chinese authorities deliberately detained Zin to send an intimidating signal to researchers whose academic findings inconvenience the Chinese government ahead of major bilateral summits.

U Min Zin, who previously participated as a student activist in Myanmar’s 1988 pro-democracy movement, serves as the director of the Myanmar Institute for Strategic and Policy Studies (ISP-Myanmar). His research organization closely investigates China’s strategic footprint, bilateral relations, investments, and regional influence within Myanmar.

He was taken into custody on June 3 after arriving in the southwestern Chinese city of Kunming to attend an academic gathering. Chinese authorities subsequently leveled accusations of spying and endangering national security against the researcher, leading to his prolonged detention in the country.

Detailing the harsh circumstances of his confinement, Sylvia Zin revealed to lawmakers that US officials informed her that her husband endured daily interrogations lasting up to six hours during his initial period of detention. These rigorous interrogation sessions have heightened concerns regarding his physical and psychological well-being behind bars.

Zin, who currently resides in Thailand, told the committee that she has been entirely barred from speaking directly with her husband since his arrest. As a result, the family must wait anxiously each month for reports from US consular visits, which serve as their only regular confirmation that he remains alive while she attempts to maintain stability for their young daughter.

Last month, the US Department of State officially designated Min Zin as "wrongfully detained" by the Chinese government. This formal status shift transfers primary responsibility for his case to the Office of the Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs, a specialized diplomatic unit that commands enhanced governmental resources and elevated priority in international negotiations.

The State Department applied the same wrongful detention status to Chen Youlin, an American seismologist focused on monitoring nuclear tests, who has been held in a Chinese prison facility for the past two years. During her testimony, Zin voiced strong conviction that President Trump has the leverage to secure Chen's freedom alongside that of her husband, citing the administration's established record of repatriating detained citizens from abroad.

The congressional hearing also featured testimony from the son of Jimmy Lai, the imprisoned Hong Kong media mogul. President Trump had previously raised Lai’s imprisonment directly with Xi during prior diplomatic exchanges, later noting to reporters that the Chinese president had characterized resolving the prominent publisher's case as a particularly difficult challenge.

In response to inquiries regarding the families' appeals, a senior White House official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, stated that addressing the wrongful detention of American nationals remains a top and consistent priority for the president as he approaches major diplomatic engagements.

Supporters and relatives are looking to past precedent as reason for optimism during the upcoming talks. Following an earlier formal bilateral meeting between Trump and Xi where the US president pressed the issue of detained citizens, Chinese authorities released imprisoned underground church leader Jin Mingri two months after the direct request was made.

With President Xi scheduled to arrive at the White House next week, families of those detained continue to emphasize that high-level engagement represents their strongest opportunity to bring their loved ones home and resolve these contentious diplomatic cases.