The pastor of a prominent underground church in China, detained last year during a crackdown on religious activity, was released on Friday, his daughter said, less than two months after President Trump raised his case with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Jin Mingri, also known as Ezra, was freed after more than 250 days in custody and permitted to travel to the United States.
Mr. Jin, founder of Zion Church, was arrested in October and charged with “illegally using information networks.” After authorities shut down his Beijing headquarters in 2018, he moved his ministry online, where his sermons attracted an estimated 10,000 viewers across China, according to his daughter Grace Jin Drexel.
His detention was part of a broader campaign against religious groups in China, which has seen several other pastors taken into custody as the government tightens its control.
Mr. Jin, 57, was one of two non‑American cases highlighted by Trump in May during his meeting with Xi in Beijing. The other was Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai, a British citizen, whose case was described as “tough.” Lai was later sentenced to 20 years in prison for “conspiracy to collude with foreign forces.”
Ms. Jin Drexel said in a telephone interview on Saturday that she was “very much overjoyed and thankful that this happened.”
She reunited with her father on Friday night in Los Angeles, the first meeting since 2020, and he met his one‑month‑old grandson, named Ezra in his honor.
Ms. Jin Drexel later issued a statement thanking “President Trump and his administration for their tremendous leadership.”
“We know this could not have happened without the direct intervention from Chairman Xi Jinping,” the statement said. “We hope this signals a positive turn for people of faith in China and for relations between our two nations.”
John Kamm, founder of the U.S.‑based human‑rights group Dui Hua, noted that the timing—on the eve of the Fourth of July—carries symbolic weight.
“If the Chinese truly want something enough, they will make concessions,” Kamm said.
U.S.–China relations have largely stabilized after a turbulent 2025, during which the two sides exchanged economic threats and tariffs. Despite lingering tensions, both governments agreed in May to pursue “constructive strategic stability” to avoid direct conflict.
One longstanding U.S. demand is that China cease arms sales to Taiwan, which Xi has described as “the most important issue in China‑U.S. relations.”
Trump said he discussed pending weapons transfers to Taiwan with Xi at the summit, calling a $14 billion weapons package approved by Congress in January a “very good negotiating chip.” The package remains stalled at the White House.
Before his arrest, Mr. Jin endured years of surveillance and harassment and was barred from leaving China to see his family, who relocated abroad in 2018. Ms. Jin Drexel, her mother, and her two younger brothers now reside in the United States.
The Chinese Constitution guarantees freedom of religion, but in practice the Communist Party permits only tightly controlled, state‑approved congregations to operate openly. Tens of millions of Chinese Christians are believed to worship in underground or house churches.
Ms. Jin Drexel expressed ongoing concern for the eight other Zion Church pastors still detained in China.
One of them, Franklin Wang Lin, told his congregation in June that authorities had added a fraud charge to his existing “illegal business operations” accusation.
In a letter sent to his wife Su Ziming through his lawyer, Mr. Wang reported losing more than 30 pounds in custody and suffering malnutrition.
He claimed the government was trying to label Christian donations as fraud, a rejection of “the two‑thousand‑year tradition of Christian belief and practice.”
“Our faith is not a crime,” Ms. Su said.