Freed Chinese Pastor Credits Trump's Personal Diplomacy for Sudden Release from Prison

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A Release Nobody Expected

On the morning of July 3, Ezra Jin Mingri sat inside a detention center in southern China, bracing for a prison sentence that could last 15 years or more. By the next evening, he was eating a hamburger in Los Angeles and watching Independence Day fireworks with his family.

"It's so dramatic. It's unimaginable," the 57-year-old pastor told reporters shortly after his arrival in the United States.

Jin leads Zion Church, one of China's largest unregistered Christian congregations. Unlike state-sanctioned churches, Zion operates independently of Communist Party oversight — a status that has repeatedly put it in the government's crosshairs.

Trump Raised the Case Directly with Xi

Jin's release came less than two months after President Donald Trump personally raised his case with Chinese leader Xi Jinping during a May visit to Beijing. Trump told reporters at the time that Xi indicated he would "strongly consider" the pastor's situation, though Xi reportedly gave a less encouraging response regarding jailed Hong Kong publisher Jimmy Lai in the same conversation.

Jin said he does not know whether any broader deal or exchange led to his release, but he credited Trump directly. "It's a miracle," he said, calling the president's approach a form of "unique diplomacy" that "has results."

China's Foreign Ministry, when asked about the release, said only that the country manages religious affairs "in accordance with the law" and rejected what it called foreign interference in its internal affairs.

From a Prison Van to a Airport Courtroom

Jin described a disorienting sequence of events. Guards told him abruptly to gather his belongings, including a Bible, and handed him new clothes and shoes. He was moved from a detention facility in Beihai to a high-speed train, escorted by police who filmed the entire journey.

He said he assumed at first that he might simply be placed under house arrest, since he considered a full release "too good to believe" — Chinese authorities rarely respond to outside diplomatic pressure, and numerous other pastors and activists remain imprisoned.

After a roughly 470-mile journey to Guangzhou, Jin was taken to the city's international airport, where a makeshift court convened in a VIP room. Prosecutors declared the "criminal evidence solid" but announced they would not indict him on charges tied to running an unregistered church, including allegations of illegal business activity and fraud.

A Church Built Online After Being Shut Down

Zion Church has weathered government pressure since its founding in 2007. In 2018, Beijing authorities shut down its physical location after the congregation refused to install state-mandated surveillance cameras. Jin sent his family to the United States at that time but remained in China to keep the church running, shifting services to small in-person gatherings and online meetings that drew a large following during the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to Human Rights Watch, the October 2025 crackdown that led to Jin's detention was among the largest coordinated actions against a single Christian congregation in China in decades, with nearly 30 pastors and members arrested across multiple cities. Two of the church's other leaders, Wang Xiaoguang and Yang Rongli, were separately sentenced to nine and 15 years in prison, respectively.

Reunited with Family After Years Apart

At the airport, Jin's passport was returned to him before he boarded a nearly 13-hour flight to Los Angeles, where a U.S. diplomat was waiting. He was granted a fee-free one-year visa on arrival.

For Jin, the moment marked the end of a long separation from his wife and children, who had relocated to the U.S. years earlier. He met his three grandchildren for the first time, including one born just a month before his release. His daughter, Grace Jin Drexel, who had lobbied U.S. officials for months on her father's behalf, said she barely recognized him at first because of how much weight he had lost.

Still Fighting for Others Left Behind

Jin says his focus now turns to the Zion Church members and other Christians still imprisoned in China, including Wang Yi, pastor of the Early Rain Covenant Church, who is serving a nine-year sentence. This week, Jin met with House Speaker Mike Johnson alongside relatives of other detained Christians.

"I am free in this country, so warmly welcomed, so I am making a special call not to forget that many more are still detained," Jin said, his voice breaking. Johnson noted that support for Jin's case crossed party lines: "This is something we all agree on. It's about religious freedom around the world."

Jin's hope now extends beyond individual releases. He says his deepest wish is for China's government to eventually legalize independent churches like his own — a prospect that, for now, remains far from Beijing's current religious policy.

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Sources

1. NPR – "Pastor freed from prison in China weeks after Trump requested his release": https://www.npr.org/2026/07/05/nx-s1-5882784/pastor-freed-prison-china-trump-request
2. NBC News – "Chinese pastor released from prison after Trump raised his case with Xi Jinping": https://www.nbcnews.com/world/china/chinese-pastor-released-prison-trump-raised-case-xi-jinping-rcna353014
3. Human Rights Watch – "China: Nationwide Crackdown on Major Underground Church": https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/10/14/china-nationwide-crackdown-on-major-underground-church
4. Wikipedia (background/verification only, not for direct claims) – "Beijing Zion Church": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beijing_Zion_Church

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