China frees pastor after Trump raised case with Xi

China released underground church pastor Ezra Jin Mingri, who had been detained since October, his family and rights groups said on Sunday after he arrived in Los Angeles.

The release came less than two months after US President Donald Trump raised Jin's case with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping during a visit to Beijing.

Who is Pastor Ezra Jin? 

Jin founded Zion Church in Beijing in 2007, and it grew to around 1,500 members before authorities forced it to close in 2018.

He moved his family to the United States after officials targeted the church but later returned to China despite the risks. His daughter told US lawmakers last year that she had not seen her father in six years.

Jin's case gained international attention after Trump said he had also discussed the detention of Hong Kong pro-democracy publisher Jimmy Lai with Xi during the Beijing visit. Lai is serving a 20-year prison sentence in Hong Kong.

Family thanks Trump and Xi

Jin's family said his release happened unexpectedly and credited both Trump and Xi with making it possible.

"We thank God for this tremendous miracle," Jin's daughter Grace said in a statement shared by a church member with the AFP news agency. 

"We hope this is a signal of a positive turn for people of faith in China and relations between our two nations." 

Trump said after returning from Beijing in May that he had asked Xi to release Jin. According to Trump, Xi replied that he would "strongly consider" the request.

Christian advocacy group ChinaAid welcomed Jin's release, saying he arrived safely in Los Angeles on Saturday after being held in the southern Chinese city of Beihai since October.

China's Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The White House also did not immediately comment.

Church leaders remain in detention

Jin was among 18 leaders of Beijing's underground Zion Church who were detained in October and accused of illegally using information networks. His daughter Grace Jin said eight church members remain in detention.

"At least eight members of Zion Church remain detained in China," Maya Wang of Human Rights Watch wrote on X. "They should all be freed."

Zion Church is one of China's largest unregistered Protestant churches. Like other house churches, it operates outside the state-approved religious system, which requires worshippers to attend officially registered congregations.

China's ruling Communist Party, which is officially atheist, has tightened controls over religion under Xi, promoting the "Sinicization" of faith groups by demanding greater loyalty to the state.

Edited by: Jenipher Camino Gonzalez