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Ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s expected visit to Washington, the families of several US citizens detained in China have intensified calls on the administration of President Donald Trump to seek their release. As the South China Morning Post reports, relatives of scientist Chen Yulin, Min Xin, Dawn Michelle Hunt and Nelson Wells Jr. are asking Washington to raise their cases in contacts with Beijing.
Chinese-American scientist Chen Yulin was detained at Beijing airport after traveling to China in October 2024. According to the publication, for more than 670 days, his wife and other relatives have been unable to see or speak with him. Chinese authorities accused Chen of espionage. According to SCMP, this may be connected to his previous work analyzing seismic data, including data on North Korea’s nuclear tests.
Wrongful detention status
The US government has officially designated Chen and Min Xin as wrongfully detained. This status means that US officials prioritize efforts to secure their release. Chen has been visited by US consular staff, and his interests are represented by a lawyer. The scientist’s wife, Rong Yufan, expressed concern about his health and reported weight loss during his detention.
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Beijing rejects the US designations of wrongful detention. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said there are no cases of wrongful detention in China and that judicial authorities handle cases in accordance with the law. A representative of the Chinese Embassy in Washington told The Wall Street Journal that criminal coercive measures have been applied to Xin, meaning he is under investigation, and that his legal rights are allegedly fully guaranteed.
Calls for humanitarian release
Dawn Michelle Hunt and Nelson Wells Jr. have spent more than 12 years in Chinese prisons following separate convictions in drug cases. Their families claim that both Americans unknowingly transported drugs and are seeking humanitarian release, citing the prisoners’ health problems.
The US State Department said it had repeatedly raised the health issues of Wells and Hunt with Chinese officials and called for their unconditional release on humanitarian grounds. In 2024, US diplomacy secured the release of three US citizens whom China had held for years; Beijing then said that the United States had returned four people to China.
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