Beijing —
An American scientist who has studied underground nuclear tests has been detained in China for more than 18 months on spying charges, according to his supporters and a US lawmaker.
Youlin Chen, a seismologist, has been “wrongfully detained” since November 2024, US Senator Edward Markey said in a statement Tuesday.
President Donald Trump raised Chen’s detention and asked for his freedom during a meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing in May, according to Global Reach, a US non-profit that has been working with Chen’s family on his case.
Chen, who was living in Boston and has a college-age son, is the only…