China detains US seismologist who has studied North Korean nuclear tests
WASHINGTON: A Chinese-born American seismologist who has published US-funded work on detecting North Korean nuclear tests has been detained in China for nearly two years and faces trial on spying charges, according to his wife, US lawmakers and two hostage advocacy groups. The case of Youlin Chen, reported here for the first time, adds an irritant to the tense relationship between the nuclear-armed rivals and comes as President Donald Trump seeks to keep the relationship steady following last year’s trade war.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio on March 19 designated Chen, 54, as “wrongfully detained,” making his release a top US priority. The Trump administration has withheld a public announcement to allow space for high-level diplomacy aimed at securing his freedom, according to his wife, Yufang Rong.
A US source familiar with Chen’s case said the administration was “focused on gaining his release from his unjustifiable detention.” The source spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomatic talks.
Chen, who became a US citizen in 2011 and lives in Boston, Massachusetts, is the only American currently held in China designated as wrongfully detained, according to his wife and hostage advocates. Rong said she has been told by the White House and the State Department that during a state visit to Beijing in May, Trump raised her husband’s detention with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who promised to look in to it. Xi’s government, however, has taken no action, she said.
The US source did not directly confirm that Trump discussed Chen with Xi. But the source said the pair have a “very good personal relationship. This is one of many facets in the US-China relationship. No one issue is defining.”
In a Reuters interview, Rong expressed concern that Beijing has decided even before putting Chen on trial to find him guilty of espionage, a crime that in China carries a possible sentence of up to life in prison or even the death penalty for cases deemed especially grave.
“I believe they will convict him no matter what and the trial will be behind closed doors,” said Rong, who is also a seismologist but does not collaborate on her husband’s work.
The Foley Foundation, a hostage advocacy organization that has been tracking Chen’s case, believes that Chen is among at least 12 Americans unjustly held in China, including people under exit bans, said Elizabeth Richards, the group’s director of hostage advocacy.
“President Trump has been clear that he wants every American detained abroad to return home, and he has reunited over 100 individuals with their families since taking office this term,” said deputy White House press secretary Anna Kelly.
The Office of the US Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs and the Chinese embassy did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
