Ezra Jin, founder of Zion Church, is released from detention in China and arrives in the United States, according to his church and family, as well as rights groups monitoring the case. Jin, also known as Mingri, was detained on October 10 alongside other church members during what multiple reports describe as a broad crackdown on Christians connected to unregistered, or “underground,” churches. Officials accused him and others of “illegal use of information networks,” a charge reported in connection with the October arrests.
Several outlets report that his release follows direct diplomatic attention from the United States. Korea Times and Channel NewsAsia say US President Donald Trump raised Jin’s case with China’s President Xi Jinping, after which China releases him weeks later. ChinaAid, cited by Korea Times, says Jin reaches Los Angeles after being released from Chinese detention.
The reports also say Jin is reunited with his family in the US shortly after landing, and that the process is communicated by Chinese officials as linked to discussions between the US and China, described as a goodwill gesture timed with the period around US Independence Day.
