{"id":2691,"date":"2026-07-14T23:09:18","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T23:09:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=2691"},"modified":"2026-07-14T23:09:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T23:09:18","slug":"u-s-seismologist-has-been-detained-in-china-for-nearly-2-years-with-no-trial-his-family-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=2691","title":{"rendered":"U.S. seismologist has been detained in China for nearly 2 years with no trial, his family says"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 A China-born American seismologist has been detained in China without trial for nearly two years, an advocacy group advising the family said Tuesday, a revelation that came a couple of months before Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to visit the U.S.<\/p>\n

Read more House passes Trump-backed bill that would make daylight saving time permanent<\/a><\/p>\n

The relatives of Youlin Chen of Boston broke their silence this week, apparently after they saw no sign from the Chinese government that it was planning to release Chen \u2014 even after President Donald Trump brought up the case when meeting Xi in Beijing in May, according to Global Reach, a Washington-based nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing home Americans wrongly detained abroad.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI have not been able to speak with my husband for over 600 days and am concerned for his health and well-being,\u201d Yufang Rong, Chen\u2019s wife, said in a statement released by Global Reach, which has been advising the family since Chen\u2019s detention.<\/p>\n

\u201cPresident Trump has taken a personal interest in freeing Youlin. Since taking office, he has already freed 106 people and I know that he and his team will bring Youlin home to us,\u201d Rong said.<\/p>\n

Chen is the only U.S. citizen determined by the State Department to be wrongfully detained in China, Global Reach said. The designation means those cases are of high priority to the U.S. government and can lead to intense diplomatic efforts to secure releases. The Biden administration in 2024 secured the release of three wrongfully detained Americans from China.<\/p>\n

\u201cPresident Trump has been clear that he wants every American detained abroad to return home, and he has reunited over 100 individuals with their families since taking office this term,\u201d Anna Kelly, a White House spokesperson, said when asked about Chen\u2019s case.<\/p>\n

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio designated Chen as a wrongful detainee in March. The State Department said Tuesday that the U.S. government has raised Chen\u2019s case directly with Chinese officials, calling for his immediate release. Reuters reported earlier on his detention.<\/p>\n

Lin Jian, a spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry, said Tuesday that there is no \u201cwrongful detention\u201d in China and that judicial agencies handle cases in accordance with the law.<\/p>\n

Read more Democratic congressional candidate Bobby Pulido\u2019s past tweets include homophobic and racist slurs<\/a><\/p>\n

If not resolved, Chen\u2019s case could \u201cfigure prominently\u201d when Xi is expected to meet Trump in Washington in September, said Eric Lebson, a Global Reach adviser to Chen\u2019s relatives. The family decided to speak out now because Chinese officials do not appear to be acting on Xi\u2019s commitment to Trump after the U.S. president raised Chen\u2019s detention in May, Lebson said.<\/p>\n

The seismologist was detained in November 2024 by state security agents during a personal trip to visit his parents in Beijing, and he has been charged with espionage, Global Reach said.<\/p>\n

Chen has worked as a U.S. government contractor for the State Department and Air Force Research Lab, with much of his work involving collaborating with Chinese colleagues to analyze seismological data, Global Reach said.<\/p>\n

Chen\u2019s arrest is \u201clikely an effort by Chinese officials to learn about the techniques the U.S. uses to detect nuclear tests using seismic data,\u201d the group said.<\/p>\n

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U.S. embassy personnel have been allowed to visit Chen several times but are not allowed to discuss the case with him, the group said.<\/p>\n

Sen. Edward Markey, a Democrat from Massachusetts, vowed Tuesday to do \u201ceverything within my power to advocate for\u201d the immediate release of one of his constituents.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is my hope that increased attention on his unjust detention will force the Chinese government to do the right thing and release Dr. Chen and allow him to return to his family in Massachusetts,\u201d Markey said.<\/p>\n

Read more Trump plans to raise allegations of 2020 election interference in Thursday speech<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A China-born American seismologist has been detained in China without trial for nearly two years, an advocacy group advising the family said Tuesday, a revelation that came a couple of months before Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to visit the U.S.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2690,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2691","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-u-s-news"],"yoast_head":"\nU.S. seismologist has been detained in China for nearly 2 years with no trial, his family says - Trusted Moving Group<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=2691\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"U.S. seismologist has been detained in China for nearly 2 years with no trial, his family says - 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