A prominent Chinese underground church pastor has been released from prison and arrived safely in the United States less than two months after President Donald Trump personally raised his case with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Ezra Jin Mingri, founder of Beijing's Zion Church, was detained alongside 17 other church leaders during one of the Chinese Communist Party's largest crackdowns on a single Christian congregation in decades. His release was confirmed Saturday by religious freedom organization ChinaAid, which said the pastor had arrived in Los Angeles. The breakthrough came after Trump publicly revealed in May that he had discussed Jin's imprisonment directly with Xi during a state visit to Beijing. "I think he's giving very serious consideration to the pastor," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One after returning from China.
Trump also raised the case of imprisoned Hong Kong pro-democracy publisher Jimmy Lai during the meeting, though he acknowledged Lai's release would likely be more difficult. Jin's family credited Trump's intervention for securing the pastor's freedom. "We thank the Trump administration for their tremendous leadership," the family said in a statement, adding they believe the release "could not have happened without the direct intervention" of Xi following Trump's request. "We hope this is a signal of a positive turn for people of faith in China and relations between our two nations."
Bob Fu, founder and president of ChinaAid, also thanked Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and other U.S. officials for helping secure Jin's release while urging the administration to continue prioritizing religious liberty in negotiations with Beijing. The Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China likewise welcomed the development, saying it was "overjoyed" by Jin's release and thanking the diplomats who worked behind the scenes to make it happen.
Jin founded Zion Church in Beijing in 2007 with just a handful of worshippers before it grew into one of China's largest independent Protestant churches, operating outside the Communist Party's state-controlled religious system. Chinese authorities officially banned the church in 2018 as Beijing intensified its crackdown on independent Christian congregations and other religious groups viewed as operating outside government control. Many affiliated churches were subsequently forced underground or shut down altogether.
Jin had previously brought his family to the United States for safety after authorities first targeted Zion Church but returned to China despite the risks, saying he remained committed to leading his congregation. Numerous members of Zion Church remain imprisoned or continue to face criminal charges.
