Pastor Ezra Jin Mingri, of the underground Zion Church, was detained in China in October but has now been released and reunited with his family in the United States.
Background
Pastor Jin’s case gained attention after President Donald Trump brought up his detention when meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing. The pastor was among 17 church leaders detained in one of China’s largest crackdowns on a single church in decades, raising concerns over Beijing’s escalation in curtailing religious freedom.
The Zion Church is one of the largest unregistered churches in China, defying restrictions from the officially atheist Communist Party that require believers to worship only in registered congregations. Pastor Jin’s daughter, Grace Jin Drexel, has spoken out about her father’s detention and the importance of religious freedom.
The family has thanked President Trump for his role in securing Pastor Jin’s release, stating that it could not have happened without Xi’s direct intervention. They hope this development signals a positive turn for people of faith in China and relations between the two nations.
Original reporting: KTBS 3 (Shreveport) — read the source article.
