China released Pastor Ezra Jin Mingri on Friday after more than 250 days in prison, allowing the prominent underground church leader to return to the United States following President Donald Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping earlier this year.
“We know that this could not have happened without the direct intervention from Chairman Xi Jinping,” Jin’s family said in a statement. “We hope this is a signal of a positive turn for people of faith in China and relations between our two nations.”
Jin, 57, was arrested during a broader crackdown on religious activity in October and charged with “illegally using information networks.” He founded Zion Church, one of Beijing’s largest underground Protestant congregations, whose physical location was shut down by Chinese authorities in 2018. The church later moved its services online, reaching an estimated 10,000 people across China, according to Jin’s daughter, Grace Jin Drexel.
Jin’s detention became a point of discussion between Trump and Xi during their meeting in Beijing in May. Trump later told reporters that Xi had agreed to “strongly consider the pastor’s” case.
Jin was one of two prisoners Trump said he raised with Xi. The other was Jimmy Lai, the British citizen, Hong Kong media mogul, and pro-democracy activist who was sentenced in February to 20 years in prison. Trump described Lai’s case as “a tough one.”
Following Jin’s release, Drexel thanked “President Trump and his administration for their tremendous leadership” in securing her father’s freedom.
Before his arrest, Jin had endured years of government surveillance and harassment. Chinese authorities also barred him from leaving the country to visit his family after his wife, daughter, and two sons relocated to the U.S. in 2018, according to Jin Drexel.
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The Congressional-Executive Commission on China also welcomed the development.
“We celebrate the release of Pastor Ezra Jin and his reunification with his family in the United States,” the committee said in a statement on X. “We thank @POTUS for raising Pastor Jin’s case directly with Xi Jinping and for making sure U.S. diplomats worked behind the scenes to make this release happen.”