WASHINGTON — Chinese authorities have released Pastor Ezra Jin Mingri, the leader of a prominent underground Christian church, weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump said he had personally raised the pastor's case with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a visit to Beijing, according to the pastor's family and rights advocates.
Jin arrived in Los Angeles on July 4 and has been reunited with his family after being detained since October during a broad crackdown on unregistered Christian groups in China, advocacy organizations said. Reuters was able to confirm the family's statement through ChinaAid, a U.S.-based Christian non-governmental organization that has supported Jin's case.
In a statement shared by the family, relatives thanked Trump for raising the case directly with Xi and said they believed the release "could not have happened without the direct intervention" of the Chinese leader. The family expressed hope that the development would mark "a positive turn for people of faith in China and relations between our two nations."
Trump disclosed after his May visit to China that he had urged Xi to free Jin, saying the Chinese leader told him he would give the request serious consideration. During the same trip, Trump also said he discussed the case of jailed Hong Kong pro-democracy publisher Jimmy Lai, while acknowledging that Beijing viewed Lai's case differently.
China's Foreign Ministry has not publicly commented on Jin's release, according to Reuters. The White House also has not announced any formal agreement linked to the pastor's release.
Jin led Beijing's Zion Church, one of China's best-known unregistered Protestant congregations. Chinese authorities shut its physical premises in 2018, after which the church continued operating online. In October, Jin and 17 other church leaders were detained in what rights groups described as one of the country's largest actions against a single house church in decades. Chinese authorities accused some members of offenses including illegally using information networks.
Rights advocates welcomed Jin's release but said other members of the congregation remain in custody. Grace Jin, the pastor's daughter, said eight Zion Church members are still detained in China and called for continued international attention to their cases.
The release comes as Washington and Beijing have sought to stabilize bilateral ties despite continuing disagreements over trade, security and human rights. Religious freedom has remained a recurring point of criticism by U.S. officials and international advocacy groups, which argue that China's restrictions on unregistered religious organizations have intensified in recent years.
