Two Americans are being wrongfully detained by China and there is no evidence that President Donald Trump is making any meaningful effort to get them out.
U.S. citizens Chen Youlin (陳有林) and Min Zin have been detained in China for about two years and five months, respectively. Both men traveled to China for academic exchange and were arrested on baseless espionage charges. Both have been denied access to legal representation.
When Trump welcomed Chinese leader Xi Jinping (習近平) to Washington last month, the stage was set for him to negotiate the release of Chen, Min Zin and other political prisoners like Hong Kong activist and media mogul Jimmy Lai (黎智英). The State Department had publicly declared Chen and Min Zin to be “wrongfully detained” in the weeks leading up to the summit. A bipartisan coalition of seven members of Congress had recently introduced a resolution about China’s “arbitrary or wrongful detention of American academics.” Trump even promised U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham that he would bring up the case of Lai, a British citizen, when he met with Xi.
The summit came and went without any apparent progress for these political prisoners. Trump told reporters that he raised the issue of political prisoners with Xi but did not name anyone in particular. The State Department later confirmed that Trump raised Chen and Min Zin’s cases specifically.
Trump is certainly capable of negotiating for the release of American political prisoners. Under his leadership, the U.S. has successfully negotiated the release of Americans before. His first administration secured the release of three Americans imprisoned in North Korea, as well as three UCLA basketball players who were detained in Hangzhou, China for shoplifting. In July, Chinese national Pastor Ezra Jin Mingri (金明日) was released from Chinese prison following Trump’s direct appeal to Xi during their summit in Beijing two months earlier.
On the campaign trail in 2024, Trump made big promises to free hostages in China. He told conservative podcast host Hugh Hewitt that he would 100% get Jimmy Lai out of jail and that it would be “easy.”
But Trump now seems to be satisfied with being strung along by Xi — abdicating the U.S.’s primary mandate to keep Americans safe in exchange for hollow trade promises. In a similar pattern, many suspected that Trump was waiting to sign off on the $14 billion arms package for Taiwan, which he has described as a “very good negotiating chip,” until after the September summit in Washington. However, the arms package remains in limbo.
Trump’s lackluster diplomatic efforts for American prisoners are made more infuriating by the fact that the State Department has acknowledged how dangerous it is to travel to China. Just last week, it updated its travel advisory for China with a warning that says “Americans are at serious risk of wrongful detention by the Government of China.”
“Wrongfully detained Americans may be held in prison for years, in poor conditions, and without due process or consistent access to U.S. government staff or their family,” the advisory says. China may also use non-transparent exit bans to force people to participate in investigations, resolve civil disputes in favor of Chinese citizens, pressure relatives to return to China from abroad or gain bargaining leverage over foreign governments.
The Trump administration told Voice of America recently that it “has no higher priority than the safety and security of Americans.” The president should prove it.
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