Chinese underground church figure Jin Mingri freed from prison

Underground church leader Jin Mingri has been released from prison in China and has travelled to the US, less than two months after his incarceration was raised directly by Donald Trump.The pastor and founder of the Zion Church had been imprisoned following overnight raids across China in October, described by Christian groups as one of the strictest crackdowns on religious activity in the country's modern history.The Chinese government tightly controls religion and officially promotes atheism.Jin's family thanked supporters in a statement, adding: "We truly witnessed a miracle and we are feeling so overwhelmed with joy". The Chinese foreign ministry has not officially commented on his case.The family thanked the US president and the Trump administration "for their tremendous leadership", and said they knew "this could not have happened without the direct intervention from [Chinese President] Xi Jinping"."We hope this is a signal of a positive turn for people of faith in China and relations between our two nations."US-based rights group ChinaAid, which monitors relgious persecution, confirmed Jin, also known as Ezra Jin, had arrived in Los Angeles in the US following his release.Its founder Bob Fu welcomed his release, while noting that "countless" religious practitioners, including eight belonging to the Zion Church, remained incarcerated in China.