US Seismologist Detained in China After Research on North Korean Nuclear Tests
A Chinese-born American scientist known for his U.S.-funded studies on detecting North Korean nuclear tests has now spent almost two years in Chinese custody, awaiting an espionage trial that his wife fears is already a foregone conclusion.
Youlin Chen, 54, a naturalized U.S. citizen living in Boston, was taken into custody by Chinese state security at Beijing International Airport on November 5, 2024, just as he was heading home after visiting family and giving university lectures. He was formally charged with espionage the following May, but no trial date has been set.
His wife, fellow seismologist Yufang Rong, says Chinese officials have questioned her husband more than a hundred times about his research into the seismic signatures produced by North Korea’s underground nuclear tests — work funded by the State Department and the Air Force Research Laboratory, built on publicly available data, and cleared for public release. She and a hostage-advocacy group believe Beijing may be more interested in what her husband’s expertise could reveal about masking nuclear tests than in any actual wrongdoing.
Rong describes her husband’s early detention as brutal: long hours forced to sit motionless on a stool, no exercise, and no access to medication for his diabetes. He has reportedly lost 30 to 40 pounds and continues to receive poor food and inadequate medical care.
In March, Secretary of State Marco Rubio officially classified Chen as wrongfully detained, making his case a diplomatic priority. Rong says she has been told President Trump personally raised the matter with Chinese leader Xi Jinping during a May visit to Beijing, though Xi’s government has yet to act. The issue could resurface when Xi is expected to visit Washington in September.
Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey, who pushed for Chen’s wrongful-detention designation last December, has called for renewed pressure on Beijing to secure his release. Advocacy groups estimate Chen is one of at least a dozen Americans currently held or barred from leaving China under similar circumstances.
Neither the Chinese embassy nor the U.S. hostage affairs office has commented publicly on the case.
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