From prison fears to fireworks, Chinese pastor recounts sudden release after Trump intervention | News from the well

WASHINGTON (AP) – Ezra Jin Mingri was inside a detention center in southern China on the morning of July 3, fearing he could spend at least 15 years behind bars. The 57-year-old Chinese Christian pastor even previously wondered if he would live to see see freedom again.

Within 24 hours, Jin was 15 time zones away, enjoying an In-N-Out burger in Los Angeles and watching fireworks with his family on the eve of Independence Day, marking America’s 250th Birthday.

“It’s so dramatic. It’s unimaginable,” the pastor told The Associated Press outside the nation’s capital.

He said he was suddenly released after being detained since October and then put on a plane to the United States after President Donald Trump. raised his case with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in May.

“It’s a miracle,” Jin said this week.

Jin led one of China’s most influential underground churches, which defy government restrictions by not being registered with the authorities. It is an exceptional case of a high-profile Chinese detainee released at the request of the United States, at a time when Beijing’s leaders have become increasingly inflexible in the face of foreign pressure.

Chinese pastor thanks Trump for release

Jin said Chinese authorities released him without forcing him to confess or undergo a show trial, dropping the charges instead. He said he did not know if there was a deal or exchange for his release and credited Trump’s “unique diplomacy.”

“It has results,” the pastor said.

Trump, when leave Beijing in Maytold reporters he raised Jin’s case and Xi said he would “strongly consider the pastor.” Trump also sworn to “save” our large Christian population” around the world.

Asked about Jin’s release, China’s Foreign Ministry said the country handles religious affairs in accordance with the law. “We firmly oppose any interference in China’s internal affairs on so-called religious issues,” the ministry said.

Jin put on new Nikes and set off on an unknown journey

Jin said he was called suddenly to gather his few belongings, including a Bible, on July 3. He was given new clothes and a new pair of Nike shoes. He was told he would be transferred from the detention center in the southern city of Beihai, where he had been held for 266 days.

“Could it be that these people, now under pressure, are putting me under house arrest? Jin said he was wondering. He had heard from his lawyers that Trump had mentioned his case with Xi less than two months earlier.

But he blocked that possibility when the police van sped through his old neighborhood and took him to a high-speed train station.

He was escorted into a train car with no other passengers, just police officers who were recording video. Jin said he still didn’t imagine he could be released because China rarely responds to outside pressure and many other Christian pastors and political activists remain in prison.

“I thought they were going to transfer me to a secret location,” he said. A release was “too good to believe”.

He and the officers traveled some 470 miles to the southern metropolis of Guangzhou, then headed to the international airport, Jin said.

A temporary court was set up in a VIP room at the airport, where prosecutors read a document, the pastor said.

After stating “strong criminal evidence and established criminal facts,” the lead prosecutor informed Jin of the decision not to indict him on charges including illegal business activity and fraud stemming from running an unregistered church.

China Cracks Down on Pastor’s Church

Jin founded the Zion Church in 2007 and has become one of the most influential independent congregations in China. They are different from officially approved places of worship, which accept Communist Party rule.

In 2018, Beijing authorities close the physical sanctuary of the church after the congregation refused to install surveillance cameras. Jin sent his family to the United States but stayed behind to continue growing the church, which met in small groups and gained a strong following online during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In October 2025, Jin and other Church leaders were arrested in another wave of crackdowns.

A pastor collects his passport and leaves for America

At the airport, Jin said he was given his passport before boarding a plane. An American diplomat had been waiting for him for hours.

During the nearly 13-hour flight, Jin was too excited to sleep. When he landed in Los Angeles, the pastor said he was greeted by U.S. officials and given a free one-year visa.

He was reunited with his family after a year of separation and was able to hold his three grandchildren for the first time – the youngest was barely a month old.

His daughter Grace Jin Drexel, who had lobbied for months for her father’s release, said she didn’t recognize him at first because he had lost a lot of weight and had visibly aged.

Now free, Jin works for the liberation of other Christians

Jin said he would work to help free the eight other Zion Church members and other Christians detained in China. This includes Wang Yipastor of Early Rain Covenant Church, who is serving nine years in prison.

To that end, Jin met this week with House Speaker Mike Johnson and relatives of three Christians detained in China.

“I am free in this country, so warmly welcomed, that is why I make a special appeal not to forget that many others are still detained,” he told AP, choking up. “I hope we continue to fight for their freedom. »

The Republican spokesman said Jin’s release had bipartisan support. “This is something we all agree on,” Johnson said. “This is about religious freedom around the world.”

Jin said another hope is that China will legalize independent churches.

“Probably the most important wish of my life is that Chinese churches can be recognized by their own government,” Jin said.

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Associated Press writers Ken Moritsugu in Beijing, Lisa Mascaro in Washington and Josh Funk in Omaha, Nebraska, contributed to this report.