U.S. designates American citizen Min Zin, held by China, as wrongfully detained

Key Points:

• The U.S. State Department has officially designated American citizen Min Zin as wrongfully detained by China following his arrest in Yunnan province on June 3, where he was attending an academic conference.
• China alleges Min Zin is involved in espionage and endangering national security, accusations his family and associates strongly deny, emphasizing his academic and research work.
• Min Zin, a founder of the Institute for Strategy and Policy - Myanmar and a Ph.D. candidate at UC Berkeley, is the second American academic recently designated as wrongfully detained by the U.S., highlighting growing tensions.
• His family and affiliated organizations are calling for his immediate and unconditional release, stressing the importance of academic freedom and condemning intimidation tactics.
• The U.S. government has urged China to release all arbitrarily detained or exit-banned U.S. citizens, with officials affirming the safety and security of Americans abroad as a top priority.