SouthernWorldwide.com – As President Donald Trump prepares for upcoming meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping, discussions are expected to focus on trade, Taiwan, and global security. However, for one individual, the anticipation is deeply personal, centered on the hope for their father’s return home.
The father in question is Pastor Ezra Jin Mingri, the founder of Zion Church in China. The church began in 2007 with a modest congregation of 20 individuals. Under Pastor Jin’s passionate leadership and unwavering faith, the church experienced significant growth, which unfortunately drew the attention of Chinese authorities.
Over the years, numerous church staff members faced detention and harassment from the authorities. In 2018, Zion Church was officially outlawed, and all its properties were confiscated. This action followed the church leadership’s refusal to comply with government demands to install surveillance cameras to monitor their congregants.
While trusting in divine providence and seeking to avoid further pressure on the congregation, Pastor Jin transitioned the church to a hybrid model. This involved delivering sermons online and establishing a network of satellite locations across the country. Within a few years, Zion Church had a reach of 10,000 people in 40 cities, making it one of China’s largest house churches.
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In October of the previous year, Pastor Jin and approximately 30 other Zion Church pastors and members were detained. This event has been described as “the most extensive crackdown against the faith in decades.” Eighteen of these individuals, including Pastor Jin, remain in detention, facing charges of “illegally utilizing information networks,” which essentially means sharing religious teachings online.
The detained church leaders have limited contact with the outside world, primarily through their lawyers. However, even this access is precarious, as Chinese authorities are actively working to remove the lawyers from the case. Zhang Kai, the lead defense lawyer representing Pastor Jin, had his law license revoked in January. Additionally, six other lawyers involved in the case have received six-month suspensions, while others have been subjected to harassment, intimidation, and threats.
A significant concern is Pastor Jin’s health. He suffers from severe type 2 diabetes, a condition that has previously necessitated hospitalization and requires ongoing, specialized medical care. China has a documented history of denying political prisoners adequate medical treatment. This was evident when Pastor Jin’s grandmother attempted to deliver his prescribed diabetes medication after his initial detention, but she was turned away.
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The narrative presented is that Pastor Jin is not a criminal but a person of deep faith, embodying compassion, kindness, and a commitment to helping those in need. These values are rooted in both Christian teachings and Chinese culture. In 2008, house churches, including Zion Church, were among the first to provide aid following the Sichuan earthquake. Zion Church has also been instrumental in supporting troubled marriages, assisting depressed children, and providing food for the less fortunate. Before its property was confiscated in 2018, the church annually hosted blood drives.
While Pastor Jin and his family have endured considerable hardship, this situation extends beyond personal suffering. It represents a direct challenge to American values. The United States was founded by individuals seeking refuge from religious persecution, and freedom of religion is a cornerstone of its identity, enshrined in the First Amendment and recently recognized in the Trump administration’s National Security Strategy.
The Chinese Communist Party’s intensified actions against China’s Christian community, alongside its persecution of Muslims, Tibetan and Chinese Buddhists, Taoists, and others, directly confront this fundamental American value. This is particularly noteworthy as President Trump is set to rededicate the nation as “One Nation under God.”
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Acknowledging the gravity of the situation, Ambassador Sam Brownback has characterized China’s crackdown on the Christian community as a “national security imperative.” He stated that if the world’s largest authoritarian state can eliminate religious freedom without consequence, it erodes the authority of America’s foundational values and its global leadership. This challenge, he argues, cannot be ignored.
Through persistent acts of transnational repression, Chinese authorities have attempted to retaliate against the family in the United States for speaking out about Pastor Jin’s detention. Shortly after public statements were made, his mother received a threatening phone call from an individual posing as a U.S. federal agent, who attempted to coerce her into returning to China under false pretenses.
Subsequently, her car tires were slashed overnight. The author of the article has personally experienced surveillance during meetings in Washington, D.C., and her husband has been the target of hacking attempts linked to the Chinese state.
President Xi has expressed a desire for China and the U.S. to “advance toward mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation” by 2026. However, this vision is unattainable while China imprisons the relatives of U.S. citizens for practicing their faith, undermines the religious freedom upon which America was founded, and extends its repressive tactics into U.S. borders to silence dissent.
In approximately two months, the author is expecting her third child. Her two existing children have never had the opportunity to meet their grandfather in person, as Chinese authorities have imposed an exit ban on Pastor Jin since 2018, preventing him from leaving China. The fervent hope is that Pastor Jin will be present in June to welcome the newest member of their family. The plea is for President Trump to advocate for Pastor Jin, for religious freedom, and for American values, by facilitating his father’s return home.
