China disputes US claim American citizen Min is 'wrongfully' detained

China Friday pushed back against the US framing of the detention of American national, Min Zin, as “wrongful,” stressing the judicial authorities were handling the case according to the law.

Stressing that China “upholds rule of law,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said: “there is no so-called wrongful detention.”

“The relevant people from the United States are suspected of engaging in activities that endanger China’s national security and breached China’s laws,” said Lin.

He was responding to a statement from the US State Department which said Thursday that Secretary Marco Rubio declared US national Min Zin "wrongfully detained" in China and called for his release.

Min, a scholar, was detained on June 3 in China's southern Yunnan province, where he traveled at the invitation of the Chinese government to attend an academic conference, according to the US State Department.

A graduate student at UC Berkeley and founder of a Myanmar-based research group, Min disappeared in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province, which borders Myanmar. On June 12, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs publicly confirmed that he had been arrested and formally detained on suspicion of espionage

“China’s judicial authorities are handling the case in accordance with the law,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin.