China frees pastor Ezra Jin after Trump raised case with Xi
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- Pastor Ezra Jin Mingri, detained since October on charges of illegally using information networks, arrived in Los Angeles on Saturday after his release from the southern Chinese city of Beihai.
- Jin's release came less than two months after Trump raised his case with Xi Jinping during Trump's May visit to Beijing; Trump said Xi replied he would "strongly consider" the request.
- Jin founded Zion Church in Beijing in 2007, growing it to roughly 1,500 members before authorities forced its closure in 2018; he later moved his family to the US but returned to China despite the risks.
- Jin's daughter Grace credited both Trump and Xi with making the release possible, calling it a "tremendous miracle" and expressing hope it signals "a positive turn for people of faith in China."
- Jin was one of 18 Zion Church leaders detained in October; his daughter says at least 8 church members remain in detention, a figure Human Rights Watch's Maya Wang also flagged.
- Trump said he discussed the case of Hong Kong pro-democracy publisher Jimmy Lai with Xi during the same Beijing meeting; Lai remains imprisoned serving a 20-year sentence.
- China's Foreign Ministry and the White House did not immediately comment on the release when contacted.
Why it matters: The diplomatic optics favor Trump, but the policy reality hasn't shifted: at least 8 other Zion Church members remain detained, Jimmy Lai is still serving 20 years, and Beijing's broader crackdown on unregistered religious groups under Xi's "Sinicization" campaign is unchanged. One release, not an opening.
