WASHINGTON, September 17, 2026 — U.S. Senators Edward Markey, Ted Budd, John Curtis and Adam Schiff introduced a bipartisan resolution calling on the U.S. government to prioritize the safe return of U.S. citizens wrongfully detained in mainland China, including academics Dr. Youlin Chen and Min Zin.
According to Senator Markey’s official release, Chen has been detained since November 5, 2024. The release states that he has not spoken with his family since his arrest and lacked access to his lawyer for the first 434 days of detention. Chen has not been convicted of a crime.
Min Zin, a U.S. citizen and Myanmar-focused scholar, was detained at Kunming Changshui International Airport on June 3, 2026 after traveling to Yunnan for an academic event. The U.S. State Department designated him wrongfully detained in August. Senator Markey’s release says he remains detained without access to legal counsel.
Families bring the cases to Washington
The congressional action follows direct appeals by relatives. Associated Press reported that Sylvia Zin, Min Zin’s wife, testified on Capitol Hill and asked that her husband’s case be raised during upcoming U.S.-China discussions. The family’s account is treated here as a family statement and distinguished from independently established facts. The Chinese government has alleged that Min Zin engaged in activities endangering national security; his family and the U.S. government dispute the allegation.
Senator Markey has separately said his office has worked with Chen’s family and that Chen’s family made the decision to speak publicly about his detention.
What the resolution does
The resolution condemns what its sponsors describe as a pattern of arbitrary or wrongful detention of U.S. citizens and urges the Secretary of State to use available tools to seek the release of U.S. nationals considered unlawfully or wrongfully detained in the People’s Republic of China.
Sources: Office of U.S. Senator Edward J. Markey, September 17, 2026; Associated Press, September 16, 2026; U.S. Department of State wrongful-detention designation for Min Zin, August 20, 2026.
FreeChina.live verification note: This report distinguishes official U.S. government statements, family accounts, and allegations attributed to Chinese authorities. The underlying detention cases predate the September 17 resolution; the new event is the bipartisan congressional action and the accompanying renewed family appeals.