China frees jailed pastor Ezra Jin

Ezra Jin is the founder of Zion Church, one of China's unregistered churches that some Christians choose to worship at instead of state-sanctioned ones regulated by the government.

Jin, also known by his Chinese name Mingri, was detained along with other church members on October 10 on "suspicion of the illegal use of information networks".

Trump raised his case when he visited Xi in May, and had said the Chinese president would "strongly consider" releasing him.

On Saturday, rights group ChinaAid said in a statement that Jin had arrived in Los Angeles after being released from detention in China.

The pastor was told by Chinese officials that his release "resulted from discussions between US President Donald J Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, and was presented as a goodwill gesture coinciding with America's Independence Day", the statement said.

"We thank God for this tremendous miracle," Jin's daughter Grace said in a statement shared with AFP.

"We hope this is a signal of a positive turn for people of faith in China and relations between our two nations."

Her statement thanked Trump and his administration "for their tremendous leadership".

AFP has contacted China's ministry of foreign affairs for comment.

Tightened scrutiny 

China's ruling Communist Party has historically regarded organised religion with suspicion, and under Xi, has tightened scrutiny of unofficial groups.

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.

Eight of the Zion Church members detained in October are still being held, according to the church.

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.