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In an extraordinary turn of events, China’s communist regime released imprisoned Pastor Ezra Jin on Friday, marking a reversal in its previous hardline stance in Jin’s case following an appeal from President Trump for the pastor’s release in May.

On July 4, The Free Press reported that Jin had arrived in Los Angeles the day before and was reunited with his family after 266 days in the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) prison system. “It was the first time in eight years Jin saw his wife, and the first in six years he saw his daughter,” the outlet noted, as Jin’s family had previously fled the CCP’s persecution and settled in the United States, while Jin decided to remain in China to continue leading his church.

China’s Ongoing Crackdown on the Church

Jin was arrested and imprisoned by dictator Xi Jinping’s regime last October as part of one of the largest crackdowns on China’s Christian community in decades. Almost two dozen pastors and other workers from Jin’s Zion Church were initially arrested, although some were later released.

The house church became a target of the CCP after it gained 10,000 members without being registered with the government. After its Beijing church was shut down in 2018, Zion began meeting in over 100 locations across 40 cities and became increasingly influential after it began livestreaming its services during China’s stringent COVID lockdowns.

Following the arrest of Jin and other Zion leaders, global outcry grew for their release as religious freedom advocates highlighted the plight of the imprisoned Christians along with the CCP’s sustained pattern of religious persecution over the last several decades.

Jin’s daughter Grace also related the health problems that her father dealt with while in prison, telling Washington Watch in October that despite having Type 2 diabetes, the regime “will not allow my father to use the medication that the doctors have prescribed to him. We are very concerned about their sleeping situation. [They were] apparently put in a room with more than 30 others with no beds, and they’re all expected to sleep in a room all together. … They’re not allowing any families to visit.”

From Prison to Freedom: Trump’s Diplomatic Intervention

A glimmer of hope for Jin appeared during the US-China summit in Beijing in May after President Trump personally advocated for Jin’s release with Xi Jinping and later reported that Xi was giving Jin’s case “very serious consideration.”

But the possibility of Jin’s release appeared to fade weeks later, as news broke that the regime had banned Jin’s lawyer from seeing his client, effectively cutting the pastor off from the outside world. At the same time, the CCP also expanded its clampdown on Christians after it raided and shut down a Sunday worship service being held by the Early Rain Covenant Church on 14 June with between 60 and 70 police officers and other government personnel, detaining 33 worshipers and church leaders.

However, it appears that the Trump administration’s efforts to advocate for the imprisoned pastor were not in vain, as ChinaAid reported that “Chinese officials reportedly informed [Jin] 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.”

Religious freedom advocates expressed joy following the news of Pastor Jin’s release.

“We rejoice with Pastor Ezra Jin, his family, and the global Body of Christ on this remarkable Independence Day miracle,” Bob Fu, founder and president of ChinaAid and senior fellow for International Religious Freedom at Family Research Council, stated.

“We thank Almighty God for hearing the prayers of His people. We are deeply grateful to President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and all US officials who worked tirelessly behind the scenes to secure Pastor Jin’s freedom. Their unwavering commitment demonstrates that principled leadership and persistent diplomacy can make a life-saving difference.”

FRC President Tony Perkins also voiced appreciation for the Trump administration’s efforts in an X post Monday. “I am grateful for President Trump prioritising religious freedom and pressuring Xi Jinping to release Pastor Jin.” However, he went on, “Eight other Zion Church pastors and members are still being held captive by the Chinese Communist Party. Please continue to pray for their release and for everyone enduring persecution for their faith. Religious freedom is a fundamental human right.”

In a statement from the Jin family, the pastor’s daughter Grace Jin Drexel called her father’s release a “miracle.” “We are feeling so overwhelmed with joy. We thank God for this tremendous miracle.” She went on to thank “President Trump and his administration for their tremendous leadership,” noting that her father’s release likely would not have happened “without the direct intervention from Chairman Xi Jinping.”

“We hope this is a signal of a positive turn for people of faith in China and relations between our two nations,” the statement concluded.

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Republished with thanks to The Washington Stand. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.