Pastor Ezra Jin Mingri, leader of the underground Zion Church in Beijing, has been released from detention in China and arrived safely in Los Angeles on July 4, 2026. Jin had been detained since October 2025 amid one of China’s largest crackdowns on a single church in decades.

The release occurred less than two months after US President Donald Trump raised Jin's case with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a state visit to Beijing. Trump also discussed the detention of Hong Kong pro-democracy publisher Jimmy Lai with Xi during the visit.

Jin founded Zion Church in 2007, which grew to around 1,500 members before authorities forced its closure in 2018. Despite relocating his family abroad after the crackdown, Jin returned to China to continue his work with the church, facing travel restrictions as a result.

Christian advocacy group ChinaAid welcomed Jin's release, stating he arrived safely in Los Angeles after being held in the southern Chinese city of Beihai. The Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China and the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation also confirmed his release and reunion with family.

Jin's daughter, Grace Jin, expressed gratitude, calling the release a "tremendous miracle," but noted that at least eight members of Zion Church remain detained in China. Jin's family credited both Trump and Xi for making the release possible and hope it signals a positive turn for religious freedom and bilateral relations.

Sources