Wife Says Trump Will Press Xi to Free Detained Scientist — SkimNews
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- Youlin Chen, a 54-year-old seismologist with a US government contractor who detects shockwaves from North Korean underground nuclear tests, has been imprisoned in China since his November 5, 2024 arrest at Beijing International Airport as he prepared to fly home.
- Yufang Rong said during a Tuesday White House meeting with State Department and National Security Council officials that Trump would raise Chen's case — and that of scholar Min Zin, arrested in June — with Xi on Wednesday.
- Trump raised Chen's case with Xi during a May Beijing visit, but 'it produced no action,' Rong said, making Wednesday's meeting the second appeal.
- Chen has been interrogated more than 100 times and receives substandard medical care and food while suffering from high blood pressure and diabetes, his wife said.
- China's foreign ministry said in July its judiciary handles cases 'according to the law' and there is 'no so-called wrongful detention'; the Chinese embassy did not respond to a request for comment.
- Rong fears Beijing wants to leverage Chen's expertise in decoupling — detonating inside a large underground chamber to reduce shockwave size — a capability the US has accused China of pursuing after a June 22, 2020 low-yield blast China denies.
Why it matters: For the two US citizens designated wrongfully detained, Wednesday's summit is a second chance after Trump's May appeal to Xi on Chen's case produced no action. Chen's deteriorating health — high blood pressure, diabetes, 100+ interrogations — and Rong's stated fear that China wants his decoupling expertise sharpen the urgency of a diplomatic track that has so far failed.
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