Beijing house church founder arrives in US after detention in China
ChinaAid and Jin Mingri’s family said the Zion Church founder reached Los Angeles on July 4 after being held in Beihai since October.
By Lucas Ferreira · Science & Environment Writer
3 min read
Pastor Jin Mingri, the founder of Beijing’s Zion Church, has been released from Chinese detention and arrived in Los Angeles, according to ChinaAid and his family. His release closes a months-long case watched by Christian rights advocates amid Chinese pressure on unregistered churches.
ChinaAid, a United States-based Christian rights group, said Jin, who also uses the English name Ezra Jin, landed in Los Angeles on July 4. The group said he had been held in detention centers in Beihai, a city in southern China, since October.
Jin’s family said it was thankful for his release and credited intervention by US President Donald Trump’s administration, according to the family statements cited by Al Jazeera and Reuters. The family also said it believed Chinese President Xi Jinping’s direct involvement was needed for the release to happen.
Case followed crackdown on Zion Church
Jin started Zion Church in Beijing in 2007, according to Al Jazeera and Reuters. The church became one of China’s better-known house churches, a term often used for Christian congregations that operate outside the state-approved religious system.
Zion Church is one of China’s largest unregistered churches, according to Al Jazeera and Reuters. Such congregations operate outside official rules that require worshippers to gather through registered religious bodies.
Chinese authorities closed Zion Church’s physical site in 2018, Al Jazeera and Reuters reported. The congregation continued online after that, which allowed it to reach thousands of worshippers, according to those reports.
Authorities detained Jin and other Zion Church leaders during a broader crackdown last year, according to Al Jazeera and Reuters. Eighteen church leaders were arrested and accused of illegally using information networks, the reports said.
Family cites Trump-Xi talks
Grace Jin said Trump brought up her father’s case with Xi during a May visit to Beijing, according to Al Jazeera and Reuters. Trump later told reporters that Xi was giving the request serious consideration, the reports said.
In a separate family statement, Jin’s relatives said they hoped the release would point to better conditions for people of faith in China and improved relations between Washington and Beijing. The statement did not say whether any conditions were attached to Jin’s departure from China.
Reuters reported that China’s foreign ministry had no immediate comment. Chinese authorities have not publicly announced the release, according to the accounts cited by Al Jazeera and Reuters.
Human Rights Watch’s Maya Wang welcomed Jin’s release while saying other Zion Church members remain detained. Wang, the group’s deputy Asia director, wrote on X that at least eight members of the church were still in custody and should be freed.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.