WASHINGTON – The James W. Foley Legacy Foundation, together with a coalition of leading human rights and academic freedom organizations, called on the United States Congress to pass before the end of this legislative session the bipartisan, bicameral resolutions demanding the immediate release of Min Zin, an American citizen and scholar designated by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio as wrongfully detained by the Chinese government.
The letter, addressed to Senate Majority Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson, was sent to the Congressional leaders on November 4. The coalition urges the Senate and the House of Representatives to act swiftly to pass Senate Resolution 865, introduced by Senators Ed Markey (D-MA), Ted Budd (R-NC), John Curtis (R-UT), and Adam Schiff (D-CA), and House Resolution 1549, introduced by Representatives John Moolenaar (R-MI), Stephen Lynch (D-MA), and Young Kim (R-CA). The resolutions condemn the Chinese Communist Party’s pattern of wrongfully detaining American academics and urge the United States government to prioritize the safe return of all American citizens unlawfully detained in China. “The wrongful detention of innocent Americans is never justifiable and must be condemned in the strongest possible terms,” the coalition wrote. “We stand with Mr. Zin and his family, and we will not rest until he is free.”
Furthermore, in addition to passing both resolutions, the coalition commended the U.S. government for adding a “D” indicator to the China Travel Advisory and called on President Trump to keep Mr. Zin’s release a top priority – including by raising China to Travel Advisory Level 3 and designating it a State Sponsor of Wrongful Detention, as called for in the resolutions.
“There is limited time for Congress to act,” said Diane Foley, President and Founder of the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation. “My son Jim was taken from our family and never came home. I will not stand by while another family suffers the way mine did. Congress has 55 days left in this session – and the APEC and G-20 summits are the moment to act. Bring Min Zin home.” The coalition argues that passage of the resolutions ahead of the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Shenzhen, China, on November 18–19 and the G-20 leaders’ meeting in Doral, Florida, on December 14–15 would give President Donald Trump a strong congressional mandate going into his meetings with President Xi Jinping to secure Min Zin’s release.
The Foley Foundation was joined in the letter by partners:
• Advocates for Political Prisoners
• Freedom House
• Free Them One by One
• Human Rights Foundation
• Lantos Foundation for Human Rights & Justice
• Scholars at Risk
• World Liberty Congress
Min Zin, a prominent political scientist and the executive director of an independent open-source think tank focused on Burma, has not spoken with his family or had access to legal counsel since his wrongful detention on June 3, 2026, on specious allegations of “espionage and endangering national security.” He was in China to engage in the type of independent academic interchanges that would benefit both countries, and he should never have been detained.
ABOUT THE JAMES W. FOLEY LEGACY FOUNDATION
Conflict journalist James W. Foley was taken hostage by ISIS terrorists in 2012 while covering the Syrian civil war. His captors tortured and ultimately brutally murdered him in 2014. The Foundation was established less than three weeks after his death. Inspired by the moral courage of James Foley, the Foundation advocates for American hostages and wrongful detainees held abroad and promotes journalist safety.
For more information or to learn how you can make an impact, please visit jamesfoleyfoundation.org or contact us here. Charitable donations to support the Foundation’s work may be made here.
