China just arrested a U.S. scholar at the airport on "spying" charges
Flying into China for a meeting sounds like a standard academic trip until you end up in handcuffs at the airport because Beijing suddenly decided you're a threat to national security.
This is what happened to Min Zin, a U.S. citizen and prominent political scientist who runs a Myanmar-focused think tank from Thailand. He flew into Kunming for a conference and was snatched up right at the airport.
Chinese authorities are throwing around the usual heavy-duty accusation: he was allegedly engaging in espionage that "endangers Chinese national security." Of course, Beijing followed this up with their favorite deadpan press release line about how China is a "country under the rule of law."
But here is where it gets interesting. Min Zin isn't some random academic; he was a key student activist back in Myanmar's 1988 pro-democracy uprising. He spent decades running from authoritarian regimes, eventually getting U.S. citizenship. Flying straight into the arms of the Chinese police while running a think tank that closely watches Myanmar—a country where Beijing has massive strategic interests—was a wildly risky move.
Going to a conference in an authoritarian state with a lifetime of pro-democracy activism on the resume is definitely one way to test their "rule of law."
Source: The New York Times
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