Jin Mingri Freed: Underground Church Leader Released After Trump‑Prompted Intervention
Jin Mingri, head pastor of Beijing’s Zion church, has been set free from a Chinese prison after a crackdown on underground religious activity.
The UN‑registered church, founded in 2007 by Jin, grew into one of China’s largest unofficial congregations, with an estimated 10,000 members across 40 cities. Overnight raids in October 2025 detained 30 clergy, marking what international watchdogs described as the toughest anti‑religion sweep in the country’s recent history.
Jin’s family issued a statement saying, We truly witnessed a miracle and we are feeling so overwhelmed with joy, and credited U.S. President Donald Trump for the release. Trump had urged Chinese President Xi Jinping to free Jin during a May state visit, after which he declared a willingness to strongly consider the pastor’s case.
Following his release, Jin flew to Los Angeles, where ChinaAid, a U.S.‑based rights group monitoring religious persecution, confirmed his arrival and welcomed him. The organization underscored that while Jin is safe, countless other believers – including eight from the Zion church – remain in Chinese jails.
The Inter‑Parliamentary Alliance on China, which includes dozens of UK MPs, expressed its relief, calling the news a positive turn for faith communities in China.
The crackdown came after Beijing refused to allow the Zion church to install security cameras, leading to an official ban in 2018. Many of its branch congregations have since been shut down.
We hope this is a signal of a positive turn for people of faith in China and relations between our two nations.
The case highlights the tension between state‑controlled religious institutions and underground groups. Meanwhile, other high‑profile figures, such as Hong Kong tycoon Jimmy Lai, continue to face severe sentences under China’s security laws.
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