Ezra Jin, the founder of one of China's most prominent underground churches, walked through the arrival gate at Los Angeles International Airport on Friday a free man. He had not been a free man since October, when Chinese authorities decided his style of worship was a problem that required handcuffs. Now he was back with his family, and the prison that held him was roughly 6,500 miles in the rearview mirror.
Jin, also known as Jin Mingri, founded Zion Church, an unregistered house church that operated outside China's state-sanctioned religious system. As Trending Views reported, he was one of nearly 30 Zion Church pastors and staff members detained in October in what human rights advocates described as one of China's largest crackdowns on evangelical churches in decades. Nearly 30 people arrested for the crime of praying without a government permission slip. Just an incredible use of state resources.
Here is where it gets interesting. According to statements from Jin's family and the Christian human rights organization tracking his case, Chinese authorities told Jin he was being released as a result of negotiations between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. So the guy who runs a church with no government approval got sprung by the highest levels of two governments. You have to appreciate the irony of a pastor who deliberately avoided state involvement being freed specifically because of state involvement.
Trump reportedly raised Jin's case with Xi directly during a state visit to Beijing, and the release followed. Say what you want about the current state of diplomacy between these two countries, but when the ask is "hey, maybe stop jailing that pastor," and the answer is "fine," that qualifies as a productive meeting.
Zion Church had built its reputation as an underground congregation, worshipping without the official sanction that China requires of all religious institutions. Unregistered house churches exist in a constant state of "we're fine until we're not." In October, authorities decided they were not. The coordinated detention wiped out the church's entire leadership structure in one sweep.
The months between Jin's detention and his release were shaped by advocacy from human rights groups and the diplomatic channel between Washington and Beijing. When the decision came, it came with that explanation tied to the negotiations between the two heads of state.
Jin arrived in Los Angeles on Friday where his family was waiting. For the members of Zion Church and the advocates who pressed his cause, the outcome offered something concrete after months of uncertainty. A man who had been locked up for running a church was now free.
The arrivals gate at LAX is one of the most unremarkable places on earth. Thousands of people shuffle through it every day without anyone caring. On Friday, one guy walked through it and a whole lot of people cared. Sometimes the ordinary places are where the extraordinary stories end up landing.
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