Overview
- President Trump said he would bring up Pastor Ezra Jin’s detention with Xi Jinping during his Beijing visit, renewing attention to the case.
- Jin, a former leader of Beijing’s Zion Church, has been held since October 2025, with authorities citing online sermons and calling it “illegal use of information networks.”
- His daughter, Grace Jin Drexel, says the family split after authorities shut the church’s sanctuary in 2018 and that she has not seen her father since 2020.
- Advocates, including former U.S. religious freedom envoy Sam Brownback, describe a broader campaign against house churches and warn detainees can be used as leverage in U.S.–China talks.
- China’s embassy denies a targeted crackdown, saying the state protects religious belief in line with the law and only acts against activity it deems illegal.