Detained scientist's wife hopes Trump raises case with Xi
Wife of US seismologist held in China since November 2024 hopes Trump will press Xi Jinping on his release
American scientist Yulin Chen has been in Chinese custody since November 2024. His wife Yufang Rong is trying everything she can to bring her husband back. She hopes that at the upcoming high-level meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, Trump will raise the issue with Xi.
Rong says Chinese authorities have wrongly accused her husband of espionage, and she fears he could be framed in a false trial.
Yufang Rong lives in the United States. Chen is a well-known seismologist working in the US. His research has been directly linked to detecting and analysing North Korea's underground nuclear tests. Chen took US citizenship in 2011 and lives in the Boston area.
Chen's research project received funding from the US State Department and the US Air Force Research Laboratory. According to Rong, her husband's entire research was based on publicly available information and he worked with full transparency alongside Chinese scientists. His being targeted despite this has caused concern among researchers worldwide.
On 5 November 2024, Chen was about to return to the US from Beijing airport after visiting family and giving lectures at Chinese universities, when Chinese authorities detained him. He has been in Chinese custody since then. According to Rong, Chinese investigating agencies have questioned Chen more than 100 times during his detention.
Currently, US embassy officials are allowed to meet Chen only once a month, in the presence of Chinese officials. During these brief 30-minute meetings, Chen is unable to speak freely. He suffers from serious high blood pressure and diabetes, and there are grave concerns about his health due to a lack of proper treatment and nutritious food in custody.
The US State Department has clearly stated that Yulin Chen is one of two key American citizens wrongfully or unlawfully detained in China. The other is Min Jin, who was arrested by China in June. At a key meeting at the White House, officials from the US State Department and the National Security Council assured Yufang Rong that Trump would raise the matter in detail during his meeting with Xi Jinping.
Earlier in May, during his visit to China, Trump had raised Chen's case with Xi Jinping, but no concrete decision came of it. Yufang Rong said that if she got the chance to send a message to her husband, she would simply say: "Stay strong, do not lose hope. All of America stands with you, and you will be home safe soon."
