China Detains Myanmar Scholar Min Zin on Espionage Suspicions

The arrest occurred on June 3 as Min Zin traveled to Kunming for an academic workshop. China’s foreign ministry confirmed the detention last week, citing suspicions that the scholar endangered national security. Beijing maintains it will handle the case according to domestic law, though the Institute for Strategy and Policy (ISP-Myanmar) insists his presence in the country was strictly for professional research purposes.

Min Zin, a former student activist in Myanmar’s 1988 democracy movement, later pursued political science at the University of California, Berkeley. After the 2021 military coup ousted Aung San Suu Kyi, he helped relocate the ISP-Myanmar operations abroad. The organization has since become a critical voice documenting the country’s armed uprising, economic collapse, and complex diplomatic ties with China. His detention preceded a high-profile state visit to Beijing by Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing, highlighting the sensitive nature of China’s role as a major partner to the military regime.