China Frees Beijing Pastor Ezra Jin After Trump Presses Xi Jinping
Beijing pastor Ezra Jin Mingri arrived in Los Angeles on July 3, 2026, after nine months in Chinese detention. President Trump raised his case directly with Xi Jinping during a May summit in Beijing. Eight other Zion Church leaders remain imprisoned in China.
Pastor Ezra Jin Mingri landed in Los Angeles on July 3, 2026, reuniting with his family after nine months in Chinese custody. Chinese authorities had detained Jin on October 10, 2025, as part of a crackdown on the underground Zion Church across nine cities in Beijing.
The release came after President Trump personally raised Jin's case with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a state visit to Beijing in May 2026. Trump told reporters at the time that Xi was giving 'very serious consideration' to the pastor's situation.
On July 3, Chinese officials removed Jin from a detention center, issued him a new passport, and transported him to an airport. He flew directly to the United States.
Jin founded the Zion Church, one of Beijing's largest unregistered congregations. Chinese authorities charged him with subverting the state and illegally disseminating information online.
Religious freedom advocates welcomed the release but cautioned against reading too much into it. Knox Thames of the Everett Center for Global Religious Freedom called it an 'isolated concession' rather than a sign of broader policy change.
Eight other Zion Church leaders remain imprisoned, including Pastors Yin Huibin, Gao Yingjia, Wang Lin, Liu Zhenbin, Lin Shucheng, and Wang Cong, as well as Preacher Wu Qiuyu and Elder Wang Zhong. Rep. Chris Smith and other U.S. lawmakers continue to call for their release.
Jin's family and supporters described his freedom as a miracle. The broader Zion Church case, however, remains unresolved.
