The U.S. Department of State has publicly spoken out! It is demanding China release the individual immediately! On July 15, according to Voice of America reporting, the U.S. Department of State issued a statement indicating that the United States has directly raised the case of Chen Youlin with Chinese officials and urged his immediate release. Kieran Ramsey, former assistant director of the FBI, stated that one of Chen Youlin’s specialties is detecting nuclear tests by analyzing seismic data. His research findings have been publicly published. During Trump’s visit to China, he had explicitly called on China regarding this issue, but no progress has been made.
Why did our national security authorities detain Chen Youlin? Here's how it unfolded: On November 5, 2024, after concluding his home visit and academic lecture tour in China, Chen Youlin was preparing to board a flight back to the United States at Beijing Capital International Airport when he was lawfully detained by national security agencies. The charge was suspected endangerment of national security and espionage-related crimes. Chen Youlin is a top-tier seismologist of Chinese-American origin, holding bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Peking University and a Ph.D. in Earth Sciences from the University of Southern California. He became a U.S. citizen in 2011 and has long served as Chief Scientist at EMR Seismic Technology Corporation in the United States.
His core research focuses on distinguishing signals from natural earthquakes and underground nuclear tests using publicly available seismic network data—making him a leading expert in global nuclear monitoring technology. In plain terms, through algorithmic models based on seismic wave characteristics of nuclear explosions, and by leveraging data acquisition, he can accurately determine whether an underground nuclear test has occurred anywhere in the world, pinpoint its exact location, and calculate the yield of the nuclear explosion. He is also a key technical figure used by the United States to monitor other countries’ nuclear activities.
The core reason for Chen Youlin’s arrest lies in his on-site deployment of professional instruments within strategically sensitive areas of China—including potential underground nuclear test sites, strategic civil defense facilities, and surrounding regions—where he densely set up temporary seismic observation points and collected highly detailed primary data. By constructing fine-grained three-dimensional crustal maps, it becomes possible to reverse-engineer critical infrastructure such as intercontinental ballistic missile silos, underground nuclear weapons storage facilities, and national-level strategic civil defense projects. Clearly, such actions pose significant risks to our national security. Therefore, even though his research has been made public, the claim that we must release him simply because of this is untenable. We must naturally eliminate any potential threats to national security.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1870741387038730/
Disclaimer: This article represents the personal views of the author.