How Trump’s diplomacy payed off for a persecuted Chinese pastor
By Easton Martin | July 7, 2026
A prominent underground Christian pastor detained by Chinese authorities last autumn has been released from prison and has arrived in the United States, following direct diplomacy by President Donald Trump.
Pastor Ezra Jin Mingri, also known as Jin Mingri, landed in Los Angeles on Friday after spending nearly nine months in custody. His release occurred less than two months after Trump raised his case personally with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a state visit to Beijing in May.
Upon returning from that summit, Trump told reporters on his flight that he had pressed Xi regarding the detention of both Jin and imprisoned Hong Kong democracy advocate Jimmy Lai. At the time, Trump stated that the Chinese leader promised to strongly consider the case of the pastor, while noting that Lai’s situation would be a tougher issue to resolve.
The religious rights organization ChinaAid reported that Chinese officials explicitly informed Jin that his release was a direct result of the discussions between Trump and Xi. The move was framed as a goodwill gesture to coincide with America’s Independence Day.
Jin is the founder of Zion Church, one of the largest unregistered house churches in China. Founded in 2007, the congregation grew to encompass thousands of worshippers across dozens of cities by using online sermons to bypass state restrictions. The ruling Communist Party requires all religious groups to register with state-approved associations, viewing independent religious organizations as a challenge to its authority.
The pastor was arrested last October alongside nearly 30 other church members during a coordinated crackdown by authorities. While Jin has been permitted to return to his family in the United States, rights groups emphasize that at least eight other leaders from the Zion Church remain in Chinese detention facing charges such as illegal business operations.
In a statement, the pastor’s daughter, Grace Jin Drexel, expressed immense gratitude for the sudden release and praised the administration for its leadership. She noted that her father, who suffers from diabetes and had been held without family communication, had not seen some of his children for several years due to a travel ban previously imposed on him by Beijing.
