THE country has released the founder of an underground church who has been detained since October, his church and family confirmed, after US President Donald Trump raised his case with counterpart Xi Jinping.
Ezra Jin is the founder of Zion Church, one of China’s unregistered churches some Christians choose to worship at instead of the ones regulated by the government.
Jin, also known by his Chinese name Mingri, was detained along with other church members on Oct 10 last year on “suspicion of the illegal use of information networks”.
Trump raised his case when he visited Xi in May this year, and had said the Chinese president would “strongly consider” releasing him.
On Saturday, rights group ChinaAid said Jin had arrived in Los Angeles after being released from detention in China.
The pastor was told by Chinese officials that his release “resulted from discussions between US President Donald J Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, and was presented as a goodwill gesture coinciding with America’s Independence Day”, the group said.
“We thank God for this tremendous miracle,” Jin’s daughter Grace 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.”
Her statement thanked Trump and his administration “for their tremendous leadership”.
AFP has contacted China’s foreign ministry for comment.
Eight of the Zion Church members detained in October are still being held, according to the church.
Zion Church was founded in 2007 in Beijing.
It grew to 1,500 members before shuttering in 2018 under pressure.
The church maintained an online presence that flourished during the Covid-19 pandemic, amassing a following across 40 Chinese cities. — AFP
