China has accused an American nuclear test researcher of espionage
American researcher Chen Yulin has been detained in China on suspicion of espionage. He was arrested back in November 2024 during a trip to Beijing, and the U.S. links the case to information about China’s nuclear tests.
Chen Yulin, 54, was arrested in November 2024 while visiting relatives in Beijing, according to the human rights organization Global Reach. The family decided to issue a statement after seeing no signs that Beijing would release Chen.
His wife, Zhong Yufang, also a seismologist, stated that Chen had worked closely with Chinese colleagues and that these charges are “false and contradict the public and collaborative nature of his work.”
His published works focus on North Korea, a close ally of China that is under sanctions due to its nuclear weapons program and underground tests.
It is unclear whether Chen’s work related to Beijing’s nuclear program and, if so, in what way. U.S. intelligence suggests that China is developing a new arsenal and has conducted secret tests, which Beijing denies.
At a daily press briefing on Tuesday, in response to a question about the case, the Chinese Foreign Ministry stated that judicial authorities are handling the case in accordance with the law.
“There is no such thing as illegal detention,” said Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian.
In China, a conviction for espionage can result in life imprisonment or the death penalty.
Currently, Chen is the only U.S. citizen recognized as “illegally detained,” the publication reports.
Chen, who was born in China, became a U.S. citizen in 2011. He lives in Boston, Massachusetts.
Global Reach, an American nonprofit organization working with Chen’s family on his case, as noted by CNN, stated that U.S. President Donald Trump raised the issue of Chen’s detention and requested his release during a meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing in May.
According to Global Reach, “the U.S. government suspects that Chen’s arrest was prompted by China’s nuclear tests, which violate the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty.”
U.S. Senator Edward Markey, a Democrat from Massachusetts, stated that “Beijing’s treatment of Chen has undermined its partnership with the U.S. and may deter other scientists from collaborating with their counterparts in China.”
“I hope that the increased attention to his unjust detention will compel the Chinese government to do the right thing and release Chen,” he wrote in a statement released on Tuesday.
Details of Chen’s detention emerged a month after China confirmed the arrest of another American scholar, Min Jing, the director of a think tank specializing in Myanmar.
Beijing accused Min Jing of espionage and of posing a threat to China’s national security.
Source: BBC
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