China releases underground church pastor after months in detention
Ezra Jin, founder of the unregistered Zion Church in China, has been released after being detained since October. He arrived in Los Angeles on July 4th, according to his family and the Christian rights group ChinaAid.
The story so far
- Jul 5
How outlets cover it
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Open questions and key claims
The release happened very suddenly and could not have happened without Xi's direct intervention.
Pastor Ezra Jin Mingri, detained in China in October, has been released.
U.S. President Donald Trump raised the pastor's release with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Jin Mingri, also known as Ezra Jin, arrived in Los Angeles in the US following his release.
Pastor Jin Mingri, also known as Ezra Jin, arrived in Los Angeles on July 4 after being detained in China since October.
Ezra Jin founded Zion Church in Beijing in 2007, which is one of China's largest unregistered underground churches.
Chinese authorities detained Jin and other Zion Church leaders during a crackdown last year, accusing them of 'illegally using information networks'.
Christian groups described the October raids as one of the strictest crackdowns on religious activity in China's modern history.