{"id":5015,"date":"2026-07-05T06:07:37","date_gmt":"2026-07-05T06:07:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5015"},"modified":"2026-07-05T06:07:37","modified_gmt":"2026-07-05T06:07:37","slug":"pastor-freed-from-prison-in-china-weeks-after-trump-requested-his-release","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5015","title":{"rendered":"Pastor freed from prison in China weeks after Trump requested his release"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 A pastor of a prominent underground church who was detained in China in October has been released, less than two months after U.S. President Donald Trump brought up his case when meeting Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing, his family and rights advocates said Saturday.<\/p>\n

Read more NATO chief may have to match his made-for-Trump sales pitch to keep a summit on the rails<\/a><\/p>\n

Pastor Ezra Jin Mingri arrived in Los Angeles and \u201cis finally reunited with his family,\u201d Frances Hui of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation wrote on X. <\/p>\n

He and 17 other leaders of the underground Zion Church were detained in October in one of China\u2019s largest crackdowns on a single church in decades, raising worries over an escalation in the government\u2019s curtailing of religious freedom.<\/p>\n

A family statement said Jin\u2019s release happened very quickly. It thanked Trump and said they know the release could not have happened without Xi\u2019s direct intervention.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe hope this is a signal of a positive turn for people of faith in China and relations between our two nations,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n

Jin\u2019s case gained attention after Trump, on the way home from a state visit to Beijing in May, said he raised with Xi the detentions of both the pastor and that of imprisoned Hong Kong activist Jimmy Lai.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe said he\u2019s gonna strongly consider the pastor,\u201d Trump told reporters on his flight. But, he said, Xi told him that Lai\u2019s case \u201cwould be a tough one.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 78-year-old Lai, a former clothing magnate and publisher of a Hong Kong tabloid critical of Beijing, received a 20-year sentence in February.<\/p>\n

Read more Skenes, Misiorowski, Ohtani all could miss All-Star mound appearances. 4 Dodgers elected to start<\/a><\/p>\n

Activists welcomed Jin\u2019s release but also remembered other church leaders still being held.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt least 8 members of Zion Church remain detained in China,\u201d Maya Wang from Human Rights Watch wrote on X. \u201cThey should all be freed.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Zion Church is among the largest underground or house churches in China that are unregistered with authorities. They defy a requirement that believers worship only in registered congregations.<\/p>\n

The ruling Communist Party, which is officially atheist, views organized religion as a potential threat to its hold on power. Under Xi, Chinese authorities have pushed to \u201cSinicize\u201d religion by demanding loyalty to the party.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy father started Zion in order to worship freely in a church that put God as the sole head of our church, like many faithful Christians everywhere,\u201d his daughter Grace Jin Drexel, who lives in the United States, told a congressional committee in November.<\/p>\n

Jin brought his family to the U.S. after authorities targeted Zion Church in 2018 but decided to go back despite the risks. His daughter said last fall that she hadn\u2019t seen her father in six years.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Moritsugu reported from Beijing. Will Weissert in Washington contributed to this report. <\/p>\n

Read more Cubs fans sing `Take Me Home, Country Roads\u2019 during fog delay at Wrigley Field<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 A pastor of a prominent underground church who was detained in China…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5014,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5015","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nPastor freed from prison in China weeks after Trump requested his release - Raleigh Moving News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5015\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pastor freed from prison in China weeks after Trump requested his release - Raleigh Moving News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 A pastor of a prominent underground church who was detained in China...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5015\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Raleigh Moving News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-05T06:07:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=5015#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=5015\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/eda87157c0d9ccdbb002a999547a6a60\"},\"headline\":\"Pastor freed from prison in China weeks after Trump requested his release\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-05T06:07:37+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=5015\"},\"wordCount\":530,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=5015#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/750fe1232146b0630ed0c7e5293233b7.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=5015#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=5015\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=5015\",\"name\":\"Pastor freed from prison in China weeks after Trump requested his release - Raleigh Moving News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=5015#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=5015#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/750fe1232146b0630ed0c7e5293233b7.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-05T06:07:37+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/eda87157c0d9ccdbb002a999547a6a60\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=5015#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=5015\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=5015#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/750fe1232146b0630ed0c7e5293233b7.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/750fe1232146b0630ed0c7e5293233b7.webp\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":853},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=5015#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Pastor freed from prison in China weeks after Trump requested his release\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Raleigh Moving News\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/eda87157c0d9ccdbb002a999547a6a60\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Pastor freed from prison in China weeks after Trump requested his release - Raleigh Moving News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5015","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Pastor freed from prison in China weeks after Trump requested his release - Raleigh Moving News","og_description":"WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 A pastor of a prominent underground church who was detained in China...","og_url":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5015","og_site_name":"Raleigh Moving News","article_published_time":"2026-07-05T06:07:37+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5015#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5015"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/eda87157c0d9ccdbb002a999547a6a60"},"headline":"Pastor freed from prison in China weeks after Trump requested his release","datePublished":"2026-07-05T06:07:37+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5015"},"wordCount":530,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5015#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/750fe1232146b0630ed0c7e5293233b7.webp","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5015#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5015","url":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5015","name":"Pastor freed from prison in China weeks after Trump requested his release - Raleigh Moving News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5015#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5015#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/750fe1232146b0630ed0c7e5293233b7.webp","datePublished":"2026-07-05T06:07:37+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/eda87157c0d9ccdbb002a999547a6a60"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5015#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5015"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5015#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/750fe1232146b0630ed0c7e5293233b7.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/750fe1232146b0630ed0c7e5293233b7.webp","width":1280,"height":853},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5015#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Pastor freed from prison in China weeks after Trump requested his release"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/","name":"Raleigh Moving News","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/eda87157c0d9ccdbb002a999547a6a60","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com"],"url":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5015","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5015"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5015\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5014"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5015"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5015"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5015"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}