Boston seismologist’s family breaks silence after 2 years of secret detention in China

A Boston seismologist has been held in China for nearly two years without a public trial, forcing his family to break their silence last week as Beijing shows no plans to free him.

Youlin Chen, 54, was detained by Chinese state security agents in November 2024 while visiting his parents in Beijing, according to Global Reach, the nonprofit advising his family. He holds a U.S. citizenship granted in 2011. He was charged with espionage on May 1, 2025, which could carry a sentence ranging from life imprisonment to death.

His research, which was funded by the State Department and the Air Force Research Laboratory, included a December 2020 study analyzing six known North Korean nuclear tests using regional seismic data, some of which were collected in China. His wife, Yufang Rong, also a seismologist, said Chinese authorities questioned her husband more than 100 times about that work. She was not permitted to have a lawyer see him until 13 months into his detention.

“I have not been able to speak with my husband for over 600 days,” Rong said in a statement, adding that she remains concerned for his health. Global Reach said Chen has lost up to 40 pounds in custody, while the Foley Foundation noted that his diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol require treatment he cannot reliably access while detained.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio designated Chen as wrongfully detained on March 19, 2026, making him the only American in China with that status. The designation puts his case among Washington’s top diplomatic priorities. President Donald Trump raised Chen’s detention directly with Xi Jinping when the two met in Beijing in May 2026. Xi told him he would look into the matter, Global Reach told Newsweek, citing State Department officials.

As we previously reported, direct appeal can work. The founder of a prominent underground church was released earlier this month after Trump raised his case with Xi during the same May visit. However, China’s Foreign Ministry has denied any wrongdoing in Chen’s case, with spokesperson Lin Jian saying “there is no such thing as so-called wrongful detention.” Rong told Reuters, “I believe they will convict him no matter what and the trial will be behind closed doors.”

Weeks before Chen’s family spoke out, China arrested another American, Myanmar-focused scholar Min Zin, in a similar case. The University of California, Berkeley doctoral candidate was detained at a Kunming airport last month. His think tank had studied China-Myanmar relations before he faced espionage accusations that Beijing has not publicly detailed.

Chen and Min Zin’s cases matter to Asian Americans with family or professional ties spanning both countries, particularly those who rely on the kind of scientific and academic exchange their work represented. Sen. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) said the fallout could reach beyond Chen himself, warning that “the treatment of Dr. Chen has undermined that partnership and may deter other academics” from working with colleagues in China.

Rong, for her part, maintains that her husband did nothing wrong, saying he is “doing precisely the kind of people-to-people engagement that the Chinese government says it wants.” Joe Freeman, Amnesty International’s Myanmar researcher, voiced similar concern over Min Zin’s case, calling the circumstances of his arrest “extremely concerning” given the lack of disclosed evidence.

Xi is expected in Washington in September, giving Chen’s family one more window to press for his release before any trial begins.