Key facts
- Pastor Ezra Jin, founder of the underground Zion Church, has been released from prison in China.
- Jin was detained in October and his release occurred weeks after President Donald Trump raised his case with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
- Jin arrived in the U.S. on Friday evening and was reunited with his family on Saturday.
- Jin's daughter, Grace Jin Drexel, had previously testified before Congress about her father's detention.
- The release is seen as a rare instance of China releasing a citizen in response to U.S. lobbying.
Pastor Ezra Jin, the founder of the prominent underground Zion Church, has been released from prison in China and reunited with his family in the United States. Jin, who was detained in October, arrived in Los Angeles on Saturday, less than two months after U.S. President Donald Trump discussed his case with Chinese leader Xi Jinping during a meeting in Beijing.
Frances Hui of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation confirmed Jin's release, stating he is "finally reunited with his family." The Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, a group of Western lawmakers, also reported his release and shared a photo of Jin with his daughter, Grace Jin Drexel.
Jin's family expressed joy and called his release a "tremendous miracle," thanking President Trump and his administration for their leadership. China's ministry of foreign affairs did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
This release marks a rare instance of China releasing one of its own citizens following lobbying from the U.S. In 2024, American pastor David Lin was released after 20 years in prison following State Department intervention. Jin's case was specifically raised by Trump during his May visit to Beijing, with Xi Jinping reportedly "seriously considering" the release of jailed pastors.
Jin's wife and children, who are in the U.S., had repeatedly appealed to the U.S. government and Trump directly for his release. Grace Jin Drexel had testified before Congress in November, and Trump had promised to raise her father's case with Xi.
Jin, a Chinese citizen, is a well-known figure in China's underground church movement, having founded Zion Church in 2007. The church's physical location in Beijing was closed in 2018, but it continued with online sermons, reaching thousands of members. While Christianity is legal in China, worship is restricted to government-controlled churches, leading many to prefer unregistered "house churches" like Zion.
In the past year, China has intensified its crackdown on house churches, with members of other prominent groups like Early Rain church also being detained. Several Zion Church members remain in detention, with nine cases, including Jin's, transferred to prosecutors on charges of illegal business operations and fraud. Nine other members were released on bail.