Newsletters
China confirmed Friday it is holding U.S. citizen Min Zin, executive director of the Institute for Strategy and Policy-Myanmar (ISP-M), on suspicion of espionage and endangering Chinese national security, following his detention at Kunming airport in Yunnan province on June 3, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said at a regular news conference: "It is understood that Min Zin has been placed under criminal detention by the relevant authorities in accordance with the law on suspicion of engaging in espionage and endangering China's national security."
He said the U.S. consulate general in Guangzhou had been notified of the arrest.
Three people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters that Min Zin was detained after flying into Kunming in southwest China, bordering Myanmar.
A source with professional ties to ISP-M, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case, told Agence France-Presse (AFP) he was arrested at Kunming airport on June 3.
"He went there to attend a meeting," a second source said.
"His family and colleagues are following up with the consulate office there. I know his family is worried," the source added.
Min Zin is a former student activist who participated in Myanmar's 1988 democracy movement. He studied political science at the University of California, Berkeley, and helped establish the ISP, which was initially based inside Myanmar before moving to Chiang Mai, Thailand, following the 2021 military coup that ousted the democratically elected government of Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi.
The ISP-M researches the political, resource, and conflict dynamics of Myanmar's civil war, including detailed coverage of China's influence in Myanmar's borderlands, where Beijing has been accused of supporting armed factions that serve its national interests.
China has publicly backed Myanmar's new administration. It is not clear whether Min Zin was conducting research at the time he was detained.
Set as preferred source
Set as preferred source
4 min read
