Toronto Star
· collected 2026-09-22 · by Didi Tang The Associated Press
Yufang Rong, the wife of detained Chinese American seismologist Youlin Chen, hopes that President Trump will raise her husband's case during a summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Chen, 54, was arrested in November 2024 while visiting Beijing and is charged with espionage; however, his family denies these charges and maintains he has done nothing wrong. Rong expresses concern for Chen’s mental and physical health and highlights the transparency of his scientific work, suggesting China may have targeted him due to his expertise in detecting nuclear tests.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-22,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Ahead of President Xi Jinping's visit to the United States in September 2024, Yufang Rong and Sylvia Zin, wives of wrongfully detained Americans Youlin Chen and Min Zin respectively, have intensified efforts for their husbands' release. Chen, a seismologist with expertise in North Korean nuclear tests, was detained by Chinese authorities outside Beijing’s airport in November 2024. His wife Rong has not spoken to him or seen him for over 670 days, causing significant emotional and familial strain.
Zin's husband Min Zin, arrested in June 2024, is a scholar focusing on Myanmar. The U.S. State Department designates these men as the only two American citizens wrongfully detained in China. Their families are hopeful that President Donald Trump will bring up their cases during his summit with Xi. Rong and Zin met with senior U.S. officials to advocate for their husbands' release, with the White House assuring them that Trump would address this issue directly with Xi.
Despite these efforts, it remains unclear if broader human rights issues, such as those concerning Tibet and the Uyghur Muslim minority, will be discussed during the summit, given Trump's general reluctance to raise such matters publicly.
Written for “US Citizens Detained In China” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 5 other(s) covering the same event.
Ahead of a high-stakes summit between the U.S. and Chinese leaders, the wife of a detained Chinese American seismologist expressed hope that an intervention by President Donald Trump could bring home her husband, Youlin Chen, nearly two years after he was detained in China.
uncertain
he → detain → China
Along with issues ranging from artificial intelligence security to Iran, Trump is expected to raise with Chinese leader Xi Jinping the cases of Chen, 54, and Min Zin, 53, the only two American citizens considered by the U.S. government to be wrongfully detained in China.
asserted
Trump → range → China
“When he’s personally involved in such cases, Americans come back home.
asserted
Americans → involve → cases
That’s what I’ve learned,” Yufang Rong told The Associated Press in an interview in Washington on Tuesday, a day before Xi’s arrival.
asserted
Rong → ’ → arrival
Trump spoke with Xi about Chen when the U.S. president was in Beijing in May, Rong said, and if Trump mentions the case again this week, “I’m sure ... this case would be solved soon.”
uncertain
case → speak → case
The White House has said Trump wants every American detained abroad to return home.
asserted
American → say → ?
The Chinese embassy in Washington did not respond to a question about the cases of both men, whose families have traveled to Washington to meet senior U.S. officials ahead of Xi’s visit.
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families → respond → visit
Wife of detained American says seismologist has ‘done nothing wrong’
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seismologist → detain → nothing
Chen, who was born in China and moved to the U.S. in 1998 for academic pursuits, was detained in November 2024 by China’s state security agents when he was wrapping up a personal trip to visit his parents in Beijing, Rong said.
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Rong → bear → Beijing
Chen, who studies the Earth and earthquakes and is based in Boston, was stopped at an airport and was later charged with espionage, a charge the family denies.
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family → study → espionage
“He has done nothing wrong,” Rong said.
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Rong → do → nothing
Chen’s work is open and transparent, and he has collaborated with scientists around the world, including those in China, Rong said.
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Rong → collaborate → China
She said his detention came as an utter shock.
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detention → say → shock
“No one had expected such a thing would happen to him.
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thing → expect → him
He has been doing his research during his entire career,” Rong said.
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Rong → do → career
Chen also studies nuclear tests, including those in North Korea, his wife said.
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wife → study → Korea
“He can use data to detect if something (that happens) underground is a natural earthquake or is a nuclear explosion.
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that → use → data
And he can, using his methodologies, he can estimate the size of the nuclear explosion,” Rong said, speculating that Beijing might have targeted Chen for his expertise.
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Beijing → use → expertise
Since his detention, Rong said she has never had direct contact with Chen but learned about his condition through U.S. consular officials who periodically visit the scientist.
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who → say → scientist
Through notes dictated to those consular officials, Chen has told his wife not to worry about him and even still conveys how to handle mundane household chores such as changing air conditioning filters.
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Chen → dictate → filters
“But I know he is going through such unthinkable difficulties,” Rong said.
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Rong → know → difficulties
“It’s very hard to read his message each time.
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It → ’ → message
“I really worry about his health — mental health and physical health,” she said.
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she → worry → health
“He has a lot of medical conditions: diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels.
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He → have → conditions
I don’t think he has access to the medication that he used to have in the U.S.”
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he → think → U.S.
US lawmakers call for the release of Chen and others who have been detained
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who → call → Chen
The other wrongfully detained U.S. citizen in China is Min Zin, a scholar of Myanmar politics who was detained in June when traveling to the southwestern Chinese city of Kunming for an academic workshop.
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who → detain → workshop
He’s held on suspicion of endangering national security, according to his wife, Sylvia Zin.
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He → hold → wife
A group of American lawmakers introduced a bipartisan resolution last week condemning China’s wrongful detention of the U.S. scholars and urging the U.S. government to prioritize their safe return.
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group → introduce → return
“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,” said Sen. Ed Markey, D.-Mass., who represents Chen’s home state.
asserted
who → bring → state
Some lawmakers also expressed hope that Trump could bring up with Xi other detentions in China, including those of activists, Christians and members of ethnic minorities.
uncertain
Trump → express → minorities
The Aporia
