Bipartisan Resolution Calls for Release of Americans Wrongfully Detained By the CCP
Select Committee on China Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI), Congressman Stephen Lynch (D-MA), and Congresswoman Young Kim (R-CA), alongside Senators Ed Markey (D-MA), Ted Budd (R-NC), John Curtis (R-UT), and Adam Schiff (D-CA), have introduced a resolution condemning the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for its arbitrary or wrongful detention of American academics on baseless charges. The resolution urges the United States government to prioritize the safe return of all American citizens unlawfully or wrongfully detained in China, including Dr. Youlin Chen and American scholar Min Zin, among other measures.
“The Chinese Communist Party has unjustly detained Americans for years, holding them as hostages to bully and coerce our government. The wrongful detentions of Youlin Chen and Min Zin are especially egregious as they were lured to China under the false pretense of academic research. American professors and researchers must realize the CCP is not interested in an open exchange of ideas. They should reconsider any collaborations with China as well as any travel to the country,” said Chairman John Moolenaar.
“I am proud to join my colleagues in introducing a bipartisan and bicameral Resolution denouncing China’s use of arbitrary and unlawful arrests of U.S. citizens. Dr. Youlin Chen, a good man and respected seismologist and geophysicist who has made Boston his home, was arbitrarily arrested on fabricated ‘espionage’ charges nearly two years ago. Similarly, Min Zin, a Myanmar scholar and executive director of the Myanmar Institute for Strategic and Policy Studies, has not been heard from his family since he was detained in June for ‘espionage and endangering national security.’ Ironically, these two men were in China to engage in academic exchanges that benefit both our countries. They were doing honest and noble work and should never have been detained.
“These men are being held under brutal and inhumane conditions, with no access to their families and limited access, if any, to legal counsel. There has yet to be any evidence presented to justify these charges, much less an opportunity to prove their innocence.
“My office has been communicating with the family of Dr. Chen and Min Zin, and we will continue to work with our Republican colleagues in the House and Senate to bring these men home to their families. President Trump must use his upcoming meeting with President Xi to demand that China release every unlawfully detained American. The reprehensible use of our citizens as diplomatic bargaining chips is not new for the Xi government, and Congress must continue to press for the release of every American that China is unlawfully detaining," said Congressman Stephen Lynch.
“No American should ever be used as a political bargaining chip. The Chinese Communist Party’s ongoing pattern of arbitrarily detaining U.S. citizens, including scholars like Min Zin and Dr. Chen, is an egregious abuse of human rights and direct security threat,” said Congresswoman Young Kim. “As Chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs East Asia and Pacific Subcommittee, I’m proud to join this bipartisan, bicameral resolution to send an unmistakable message: Congress stands united against CCP repression, and we will not rest until every wrongfully detained American is brought safely home.”
“The wrongful detainment of innocent civilians is never justifiable and should always be condemned in the strongest possible terms. We owe it to the American people to stand up and speak out when our citizens are wrongfully detained in foreign prisons. It is my hope that this bipartisan resolution from the United States Congress will bring increased attention to the unjust detention of Dr. Youlin Chen and Min Zin and force the Chinese government to do the right thing and release them immediately. I am praying for Dr. Chen, Mr. Zin, and their families today,” said Senator Ed Markey.
“The Chinese Communist Party’s pattern of unjustly detaining innocent Americans on baseless allegations cannot carry on unchecked. It is long past time for the CCP to return American academics Dr. Youlin Chen and Mr. Min Zin home to their loved ones and end the targeting of American citizens. I am proud to stand with Senator Markey and my colleagues, as a bipartisan front, against these escalatory actions,” said Senator Ted Budd.
“China’s repeated and cruel pattern of wrongful detentions of American citizens, leaving some without access to legal counsel, is nothing short of an affront to the rule of law and infringes on their rights and freedoms. The U.S. government must redouble its efforts to ensure U.S. citizens unjustly detained abroad, like Min Zin and Dr. Chen, return safely back home to their loved ones,” said Senator Adam Schiff.
Read the full resolution text here.