China has released the founder of an underground church who has been detained since October, the church and his family confirmed to AFP on Sunday, after US President Donald Trump raised the issue with his counterpart Xi Jinping.
Ezra Jin is the founder of Zion Church, one of China’s unregistered churches where some Christians choose to worship instead of the state-sanctioned, government-regulated ones.
Jin, also known by his Chinese name Mingri, was arrested along with other members of the church on October 10 for “suspicion of illegal use of information networks”.
Trump made his case when he visited Xi in May and said the Chinese president would “strongly consider” his release.
On Saturday, rights group ChinaAid said in a statement that Jin had arrived in Los Angeles after being released from detention in China.
The pastor was told by Chinese officials that his release “resulted from discussions between US President Donald J Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping and was presented as a goodwill gesture coinciding with America’s Independence Day,” the statement said.
“We thank God for this incredible miracle,” Jin’s daughter Grace said in a statement shared with AFP.
“We hope this is a signal of a positive turn for people with faith in China and the relationship between our two nations.”
Her statement thanked Trump and his administration “for their extraordinary leadership.”
AFP has contacted China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comment.
Harsh review
China’s ruling Communist Party has historically regarded organized religion with suspicion, and under Xi’s leadership, it has tightened its grip on unofficial groups.
Authorities have cracked down on unregistered churches in recent months.
In June, an Early Rain Covenant Church service in southwestern Sichuan province was raided and two leaders arrested.
This followed the arrest in January of several other leading members of the Early Rain.
In the same week, Yayang Church in eastern Zhejiang province was scaffolded and its cross removed, AFP reporters saw.
Eight of the Zion Church members arrested in October are still being held, according to the church.
Zion Church was founded in 2007 in Beijing.
It grew to 1,500 members before shutting down in 2018 under pressure from Chinese authorities.
The church maintained an online presence that flourished during the Covid-19 pandemic, amassing followers in 40 Chinese cities.
Jin’s family moved abroad after 2018, but he returned to China to be with the church, then faced a travel ban.
He has not seen most of his family, including two young sons, for more than seven years, his daughter told AFP last year.
