The International Coalition for Democratic Renewal (ICDR) and the Forum 2000 Foundation issued a joint statement on Oct. 15 demanding that Chinese President Xi Jinping and Chinese authorities immediately and unconditionally release Min Zin, a prominent U.S. scholar, political analyst, and founder of the Institute for Strategy and Policy – Myanmar (ISP-Myanmar).
Held for over 100 days under China’s secret “Residential Surveillance at a Designated Location” (RSDL) system on spurious allegations of espionage and endangering national security, Min Zin has been denied direct contact with his family and access to legal counsel.
On Aug. 20, the U.S. State Department officially designated him as “wrongfully detained,” with senior officials confirming that securing his release remains a top priority for Washington.
Min Zin’s involvement in Myanmar’s struggle for freedom spans nearly four decades, beginning as a student activist during the historic 1988 pro-democracy uprising.
He spent nine years underground organizing opposition communities and evading military arrest before escaping to Thailand to work as an independent journalist and political analyst documenting the country’s civil resistance.
Following graduate studies at the University of California, Berkeley, he founded ISP-Myanmar in 2016 to advance open-source policy research, conflict tracking, public policy analysis, and intellectual capacity building for a new generation of Myanmar thinkers.
A long-standing member of the Forum 2000 community since 2001, Min Zin has frequently cited the late Czech President Václav Havel and his foundational essay The Power of the Powerless as a core source of courage during his years fleeing military persecution in Myanmar.
In 2007, he spoke alongside Havel in Washington when the former Czech president received the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) Democracy Service Medal.
In their joint appeal following the 30th Forum 2000 Conference in Prague, international democracy leaders strongly condemned Beijing’s actions, declaring:
“China’s detention of Min Zin is an affront to international norms and standards and sends a chilling message to those in our community who uphold the principles of intellectual freedom and the open exchange of ideas. We call upon President Xi and the relevant authorities in China to facilitate Min Zin’s immediate and unconditional release and his safe return home.”
By issuing the statement, the ICDR—a global network of over 500 intellectuals and leaders founded in 2017—reaffirmed its solidarity with its long-time member, warning that the criminalization of open-source academic research and cross-border analysis severely threatens international intellectual exchange and academic freedom.
