BEIJING, June 12 (Reuters) – China’s foreign ministry confirmed on Friday the arrest of Min Zin, a U.S. citizen who leads a think-tank focused on Myanmar, saying the American was suspected of spying and endangering Chinese national security. “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,” Lin Jian, a foreign ministry spokesperson, told a regular news conference. China has notified the
U.S. consulate general in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou of the arrest, he added. Min Zin, executive director of the Institute for Strategy and Policy (ISP) – Myanmar, was detained after he flew into Kunming in southwest China, three people with knowledge of the matter said. They all asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue. The U.S. State Department and ISP-Myanmar did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Reuters. “Min Zin was arrested at Kunming airport about
two weeks ago,” one of the people said, declining to give further details. The detention comes as the U.S. and China are working to steady their frayed bilateral relationship following U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit to Beijing last month. A former student activist who participated in Myanmar’s 1988 democracy movement, Min Zin studied political science at the University of California, Berkeley. He also helped establish the ISP, which was initially based inside Myanmar but moved overseas following the 2021 coup, when the military ousted the
democratically elected government of Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi. The coup plunged Myanmar into a protracted civil war, pitting the military against an array of pro-democracy armed groups and established ethnic armies in a conflict that is closely tracked by Min Zin’s ISP. The think-tank’s recent publications have focused on Myanmar’s political transition, after junta chief Min Aung Hlaing took over as president following a military-engineered election, as well as the country’s failing economy. China has publicly backed Myanmar’s new administration, which
took office after a widely criticized vote that excluded the country’s main opposition groups, including Suu Kyi’s political party. (Reporting by Joe Case and Reuters staff; Writing by Ryan Woo; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Kate Mayberry)
Min Zin, China, U.S. scholar, Kunming airport, suspected spying, Chinese national security, Institute for Strategy and Policy Myanmar, ISP-Myanmar, Lin Jian, Guangzhou consulate, Myanmar civil war, 2021 coup, Min Aung Hlaing, Aung San Suu Kyi
So he got arrested just for being a researcher? Sounds like China doesn’t like anyone asking questions.
This is probably another one of those “spying” labels they throw on people. But honestly, if he works on Myanmar stuff and flew into Kunming… why was he even there.
I swear these “think tank” stories always end with espionage. Like it’s always secret papers and secret meetings, but then nobody shows anything. Also they said two weeks ago at the airport, so was he already detained and just not announced?
China backs Myanmar’s government, so maybe they’re mad he’s tracking all the ethnic army stuff? The whole Myanmar angle makes it sound more political than actual spying. And it’s convenient timing with Trump visiting Beijing, like wow shock surprise the relationship is “frayed” again.