“ChinaAid welcomes with profound gratitude the release of imprisoned Chinese house church pastor Ezra Jin, who arrived safely in Los Angeles on Jul 4, 2026,” the NGO said in a statement that used Jin’s English first name.
China’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent outside work hours.
“We know that this could not have happened without the direct intervention from Chairman Xi Jinping. We hope this is a signal of a positive turn for people of faith in China and relations between our two nations,” said a separate family statement shared with Reuters.
TIGHTENED SCRUTINY
China’s ruling Communist Party has historically regarded organised religion with suspicion, and under Xi, has tightened scrutiny of unofficial groups, AFP reported.
Authorities have been cracking down on unregistered churches in recent months.
In June, an Early Rain Covenant Church service in southwestern Sichuan province was raided, and two leaders detained.
That followed the detention in January of several other leading members of Early Rain.
The same week, Yayang church in eastern Zhejiang province was scaffolded and had its cross removed, AFP reporters saw.
Zion Church was founded in 2007 in Beijing.
It grew to 1,500 members before shuttering in 2018 under pressure from Chinese authorities.
The church maintained an online presence that flourished during the COVID-19 pandemic, amassing a following across 40 Chinese cities.
Jin’s family relocated abroad after 2018 but he returned to China to be with the church, afterwards facing a travel ban.
He has not seen most of his family, including two young sons, for more than seven years, his daughter told AFP last year.
