Bring Youlin Home
Dr. Youlin Chen is an American husband, father, and seismologist wrongfully detained by the Chinese government, possibly because the Chinese government wants to exploit Youlin’s research to conduct nuclear tests in secret.
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Youlin Has Been Detained For:
About Youlin
Dr. Youlin Chen is a US citizen who lives in Boston, MA. He is married to Dr. Yufang Rong and has one college-aged son. Youlin is a respected seismologist who works as a US government contractor for the State Department and Air Force Research Lab. Much of his work involves collaborating with Chinese colleagues to analyze seismological data. His company, EMR Solutions and Technology, LLC, is headquartered in Melbourne, FL.
Youlin’s research focuses on the Earth's crustal structures in Asia using regional earthquake data, including data sourced from and in collaboration with earthquake scientists in China. In one of Youlin’s publicly available reports he applied geophysical methods to detecting North Korean nuclear tests.
Dr. Chen’s work is purely academic, using open-source and collaborator-approved and provided data. He has always publicly acknowledged his funding from the US government, and he has never held a US government security clearance.
Dr. Youlin Chen traveled to China to visit his parents on October 4, 2024, with plans to return to the US on November 5, 2024. During his one-month trip, Youlin spent most of his time with his parents in Beijing.
On November 5, 2024, he was dropped off at Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK). On the afternoon of November 6, 2024 ET, his family was notified that he had been detained by agents from the Beijing State Security Bureau (BSSB) under the Ministry of State Security (MSS) of the People’s Republic of China.
Youlin’s cell phone, iPad, laptop, and cameras were all seized by the agents from BSSB. Youlin’s phone data usage shows that his phone was turned on to receive verification codes from his various accounts including email accounts and possibly bank accounts. The location identified for the phone was the headquarters of the BSSB.
Chinese officials gained full access to Youlin’s main email account at 8pm on November 5. During the several days following that, they kept logging on and checking emails.
The attorney who was hired to represent Youlin was not allowed access to him for the first 434 days of his detention, and today has only limited access. They first met on January 12, 2026. Youlin was questioned more than 100 times during the first six months of his detention and more than 20 times afterward. All of this was done without a lawyer present. All the questions were about his research and the use of Chinese earthquake data.
His family has not been allowed any direct contact (visits or calls) with him since his arrest. While he has been charged with espionage, he has yet to face trial despite almost two years in prison.
What Happened
Youlin’s arrest is likely an effort by Chinese officials to learn about the techniques the US uses to detect nuclear tests using seismic data. Interrogating Youlin affords the Chinese government a means of circumventing the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty by using nuclear decoupling techniques to mask their tests.
Why Was Youlin Targeted?
On February 6, 2026, Under Secretary of State Tom DiNanno posted on X that China was in violation of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty and had been using nuclear “decoupling” to mask their nuclear tests. Decoupling is a technique that is specifically focused on changing the seismic signatures of nuclear tests so they can avoid detection. Arresting an American expert on the seismic detection of nuclear tests, which is what Dr. Chen is, affording the Chinese an opportunity to learn as much as possible about US seismic detection methodologies so they can establish countermeasures that allow them to circumvent the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
What’s Been Done
On March 19, 2026, Youlin was designated as a wrongful detainee by Secretary Marco Rubio pursuant to his authority under the Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act. At present, he is the only American designated as a wrongful detainee in China.
During his May 2026 visit to Beijing, President Trump raised Youlin’s detention with President Xi, who promised to look into the matter. Since then, the Chinese government has not taken any action to resolve Youlin’s case and allow him to return to the US to his family.
Senator Markey Speaks Up For Youlin
Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey has been one of Youlin’s greatest champions in Washington, D.C. We are extremely grateful for his support.
“Wrongful detainment is a cowardly practice with no winners. Today and every day, the United States must condemn governments and organizations that perpetrate this crime and work hard on behalf of U.S. citizens and families who have fallen victim. I applaud the courage of Dr. Chen’s family for making this difficult decision to go public. It is my hope that increased attention on his unjust detention will force the Chinese government to do the right thing and release Dr. Chen and allow him to return to his family in Massachusetts.
“I am praying for Dr. Youlin Chen and his family today.”
Youlin’s Story In The News
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Micah McCartney
7/16/26American researcher Youlin Chen, who published studies related to North Korea's nuclear weapons tests, is set to stand trial in China on espionage charges—an offense that can carry a possible death penalty under Chinese law, according to his wife and advocacy groups.
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Chris Buckley
7/15/26President Trump has urged Xi Jinping to release the scientist, Youlin Chen, the man’s family says. Dr. Chen studied the detection of North Korean nuclear tests.
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Mike Valerio
Simone McCarthy
7/15/26US embassy officials have visited Chen several times, but Chinese officials are always present, preventing him from speaking freely, Rong told Reuters in an interview. She retained a Chinese lawyer, but he was allowed to see Chen only after the scientist had been detained for more than 13 months.
Chinese officials have interrogated her husband more than 100 times about his work on the seismographic signatures of North Korean nuclear tests, she said.
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Richard Stone
7/17/26U.S. embassy staff who have visited Chen and spoken with his lawyer—who was not allowed to see Chen until early this year and is not permitted to discuss the case—have told Rong her husband has lost about 18 kilograms. “We tried to give him shoes for exercise,” she says, “but that was not allowed.”
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Associated Press
7/14/26The relatives of Youlin Chen of Boston broke their silence this week, apparently after they saw no sign from the Chinese government that it was planning to release him.
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Kelly Ng
7/14/26US Senator Edward Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, said Beijing's "treatment of Chen has undermined [its] partnership [with the US] and may deter other academics from engaging with their colleagues in China".
"It is my hope that increased attention on his unjust detention will force the Chinese government to do the right thing and release Chen," he wrote in a statement published on Tuesday.
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Anna Coren
July 14, 2026
At the beginning of his detention, Rong claims he was subjected to "harsh conditions" and was unable to obtain medication for his diabetes and other health problems. He's lost 30 to 40 pounds, is given insufficient food and receives only poor-quality medications, she alleges.President Trump is expected to raise both Chen and Zin's cases with Xi when the Chinese leader visits Washington in September.
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Agence France-Presse in Washington
7/14/26
Beijing may be using Youlin Chen’s knowledge to devise ways of staging nuclear tests without detection, advocates for his release from spying charges suggest -
James T. Areddy
Chun Han Wong
7/14/26Chinese authorities have charged a China-born American seismologist who researches underground nuclear tests with espionage after secretly detaining him in late 2024, according to the Massachusetts man’s supporters.
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Didi Tang, Associated Press
7/14/26Secretary of State Marco Rubio designated Chen as a wrongful detainee in March. The State Department said Tuesday that the U.S. government has raised Chen's case directly with Chinese officials, calling for his immediate release. Reuters reported earlier on his detention.
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David DeTurris
7/14/26An American seismologist who spent his career studying North Korean nuclear tests has been locked up in China for years and is expected to be hauled in front of a court over spying charges, his wife and advocates said.
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Brian Slupski
7/14/26Eric Lebson, a former U.S. national security official whose hostage advocacy organization, Global Reach, is advising Chen's family, told Reuters that Chen was employed as a U.S. government contractor.
However, Lebson told the wire service that Chen did not have a security clearance, and he did not perform classified research. Rather, he researched North Korean test blast seismic waves for the State Department and the Air Force Research Laboratory. The information he used is publicly available and viewable on the internet.
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Trending Desk
7/15/26With no trial date announced and nearly two years having passed since his detention, the Youlin Chen espionage case continues to draw international attention as Washington presses Beijing for his release.
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Sarah Newey
7/15/26Chen Youlin could face the death penalty if convicted of espionage after almost two years of ‘unlawful’ imprisonment