WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� A pastor of a prominent underground church who was has been released, less than two months after U.S. President Donald Trump brought up his case when Xi Jinping in Beijing, his family and rights advocates said Saturday.
Pastor Ezra Jin Mingri arrived in Los Angeles and 鈥渋s finally reunited with his family,鈥� Frances Hui of the in Hong Kong Foundation wrote on X.
He and 17 other leaders of the underground Zion Church were detained in October in one of China鈥檚 largest crackdowns on a single church in decades, raising worries over an escalation in the government鈥檚 .
A family statement said Jin’s release happened very quickly. It thanked Trump and said they know the release could not have happened without Xi鈥檚 direct intervention.
鈥淲e hope this is a signal of a positive turn for people of faith in China and relations between our two nations,鈥� the statement said.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Jin鈥檚 case gained attention after Trump, on the way home from a state visit to Beijing in May, said he the detentions of both the pastor and that of imprisoned Hong Kong activist .
鈥淗e said he鈥檚 gonna strongly consider the pastor,鈥� Trump told reporters on his flight. But, he said, Xi told him that Lai’s case 鈥渨ould be a tough one.鈥�
The 78-year-old Lai, a former clothing magnate and publisher of a Hong Kong tabloid critical of Beijing, received in February.
Activists welcomed Jin’s release but also remembered other church leaders still being held.
鈥淎t least 8 members of Zion Church remain detained in China,鈥� Maya Wang from Human Rights Watch wrote on X. 鈥淭hey should all be freed.鈥�
The Zion Church is among the largest underground or house churches in China that are unregistered with authorities. They defy a requirement that believers worship only in registered congregations.
The ruling Communist Party, which is officially atheist, views organized religion as a potential threat to its hold on power. Under Xi, Chinese authorities have pushed by demanding loyalty to the party.
鈥淢y father started Zion in order to worship freely in a church that put God as the sole head of our church, like many faithful Christians everywhere,鈥� his daughter Grace Jin Drexel, who lives in the United States, in November.
Jin brought his family to the U.S. after authorities targeted Zion Church in 2018 but decided to go back despite the risks. His daughter said last fall that she hadn’t seen her father in six years.
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Moritsugu reported from Beijing. Will Weissert in Washington contributed to this report.
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