Who Is Min Zin? China Confirms Arrest Of US Citizen On Espionage Suspicion, Threatening National Security

US CHINA: China’s foreign ministry confirmed Friday that U Min Zin, a U.S. citizen, was arrested on suspicion of spying and threatening China’s national security. Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said authorities followed the law when they detained Min Zin. He added that the U.S. consulate in Guangzhou was notified about the case. Lin made these comments at a regular press briefing, fielding questions about a New York Times report that Min Zin vanished last week after arriving in Kunming, in southwest China.

China Detains US Citizen 

According to three people familiar with the situation, Min Zin, who serves as executive director of the Institute for Strategy and Policy (ISP) in Myanmar, was picked up after flying into Kunming. None of the sources wanted their names public because the issue is so sensitive.

Neither the U.S. State Department nor ISP-Myanmar responded to requests for comment. One person said the authorities arrested Min Zin at the Kunming airport about two weeks ago, but didn’t share any further details.

Why is timing of the arrest tricky? 

The timing is tricky, as Washington and Beijing are trying to get their tense relationship back on track after President Trump visited Beijing last month. Min Zin is a former student activist involved in Myanmar’s democracy movement in 1988, and a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, where he earned a degree in political science.

He also played a key role in the founding of the ISP, which was originally located within Myanmar but relocated overseas after the military coup in 2021 that ousted the democratically elected government led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi.

The coup led to a prolonged civil war in Myanmar, as a variety of pro-democracy and ethnic armed groups met the military head-on, a conflict monitored by Min Zin’s ISP. China has publicly supported the new administration in Myanmar that was handed power by a controversial election that did not include the country’s leading opposition party, led by Suu Kyi.

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