A rare victory for religious freedom offers hope amid continuing repression in China
By Benedict Rogers in UCA News
The release of Pastor Ezra Jin Mingri from detention in China, and his reunion with his family in the United States on the eve of America’s 250th birthday, is a development to celebrate, described as a miracle by his family.
Pastor Jin, the founder of Zion Church, one of China’s largest unregistered Protestant churches, had been arrested at his home in Beihai, Guangxi province, on the evening of Oct. 10 last year, and spent almost nine months in prison without any contact with his family and the outside world.
His arrest was part of a nationwide crackdown in which 27 other Zion Church pastors and church members were detained.
But while we celebrate Pastor Jin’s release, let us not forget that eight of his fellow Zion Church pastors and leaders remain in detention in China, along with many other Christian leaders from other churches, including Catholics.
We must urgently demand the release of Pastor Gao Yingjia, Pastor Wang Lin, Pastor Yin Huibin, Pastor Lin Shucheng, Pastor Liu Zhenbin, Pastor Wang Cong, Elder Wang Zhong, and Ms. Wu Qiuyu — and all others imprisoned for their peaceful religious or political beliefs across China.
For Pastor Jin’s family, the fact that he has not only been freed but permitted to travel to the United States to be reunited with them makes this a joyous moment.
His daughter Grace Jin Drexel has been courageous and persistent in her advocacy for her father, speaking regularly in the media, at international conferences, and to legislators and policymakers in Washington, DC, London, Brussels and beyond. She and her family now deserve some private time to be together, and to recover from their ordeal.
President Donald Trump also deserves some credit for Pastor Jin’s release. When he visited China for a summit with Xi Jinping in May this year, the United States President made a point of raising the pastor’s case directly with Xi and seeking his release.
On Air Force One as he left Beijing, President Trump told the media that he was hopeful that Xi would agree to release Pastor Jin — and less than two months later he has.
President Trump also raised the case of the imprisoned Catholic Hong Kong entrepreneur and democracy activist Jimmy Lai and other unidentified prisoners of conscience with Xi, but was told by Xi that Lai’s release would be “a tough one.” Jimmy Lai and many others remain detained.
Others have also played their part.
In October 2025, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom condemned the detention of Christian church leaders across China and urged the Chinese authorities to immediately release Pastor Ezra Jin and all other detained church leaders.
United States Congressman Chris Smith, co-chair of the Congressional Executive Commission on China, chaired a hearing at which Grace Jin Drexel testified.
In response to the news of Pastor Jin’s release, Congressman Smith said: “Pastor Jin should never have spent a single day behind bars for peacefully living out his Christian faith. His release is a joyous answer to countless prayers, and an important reminder that sustained and principled American engagement on behalf of religious and political prisoners can make a difference.”
Former United States Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback has also been consistently vocal on Pastor Jin’s case, inviting Grace to address the International Religious Freedom Summit in February.
And it was not only the United States that acted. The European Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) invited Grace to address their summit of legislators from around the world in Brussels last November, and together with Fortify Rights hosted her in London in February where she testified to the United Kingdom Parliament and met senior parliamentarians including the United Kingdom’s Special Envoy on Freedom of Religion or Belief David Smith MP, the Co-Chair of IPAC Sir Iain Duncan Smith MP, the Chair of the Joint Committee on Human Rights Lord Alton, former Security Minister Tom Tugendhat MP, and the former First Minister of Northern Ireland Baroness Foster.
These combined high-level and sustained efforts helped put pressure on the Chinese authorities to free Pastor Jin. But why now?
It is purely speculation, but the timing is interesting for two reasons.
Firstly, he arrived in the United States on July 3, the eve of America’s celebration of its 250th anniversary. Could this be a symbolic gesture by China in the hope of improvements in its relationship with the United States?
Secondly, his release came just two days after a draconian new law, the Ethnic Unity and Progress Law, took effect in China. This law will likely increase and intensify religious persecution and the repression of ethnic groups such as the Tibetans and Uyghurs, leading to further violations of freedom of religion or belief. Perhaps Pastor Jin’s release was timed to distract from criticism of this new law?
In human rights advocacy, when good news comes, it should be celebrated, especially when we face so many challenges around the globe. But it should never be an excuse to relax our efforts.
If Pastor Jin’s release was intended to create a false impression of relaxation of repression in China, we must challenge that fig-leaf attempt. Instead, we should take this good news as evidence that sustained advocacy can succeed, and — heartened by this — we must redouble our efforts to seek the release of the eight other Zion Church pastors and leaders, all other religious prisoners, and all political prisoners throughout China, including Jimmy Lai, a devout Catholic serving a 20-year prison sentence simply for his democracy activism.
Jimmy Lai, 78 years old and a British citizen, has already spent 2,000 days in solitary confinement. His health continues to deteriorate — if he is not freed soon, he will likely die in jail. The United States, the United Kingdom, and the international community — including Pope Leo XIII and the Vatican — must take courage from President Trump’s success in securing Pastor Jin’s release and intensify efforts to free Mr Lai and other political prisoners without delay.
This article was originally published in UCA News.