Chinese house church pastor, Ezra Jin Mingri, has spoken publicly for the first time since regaining his freedom, describing his release as a miracle while pledging to continue campaigning for fellow church members who remain imprisoned in China.
Jin, 56, was released last week after spending 266 days in detention. He had been arrested in October alongside 28 leaders and members of Beijing Zion Church.
His release came less than two months after US President Donald Trump reportedly raised his case with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting in Beijing.
Writing in an opinion article for The Wall Street Journal, the founder of Beijing Zion Church expressed hope that his freedom would mark the beginning of greater religious liberty in China.
“Such a future might seem impossibly remote, but so did my release,” Jin wrote.
Jin recalled that prison officials escorted him into a van last Friday, leaving him convinced he was being taken to court to face what he expected would be a lengthy prison sentence for leading an underground house church.
Instead, authorities informed him that all charges had been dropped and released him.
“I couldn’t be more thankful, and pray that others still imprisoned will experience this same freedom soon. Mine is a God of miracles, and he constantly surprises me.”
Despite his release, Jin said eight members of his church and several other Christian leaders remain behind bars under difficult conditions.
“[They] are confined in cramped cells and sleep on floor mats in blistering heat,” he wrote. “Many leave behind young families. I won’t rest until they see freedom.”
Jin maintained that China’s authorities have no reason to fear Christians who worship outside state-approved churches.
“These Christians love their nation,” Jin declared. “They only want to worship God peacefully according to the Bible and to serve others, especially the poor, the disabled and the elderly.”
“Freedom of religion is a universal right promised in the Chinese Constitution,” he continued. “I hope that all our church members are freed and that China becomes a place where all people can freely worship. A first step would be to legalize house churches alongside state-run churches in the same way China has legalized private industry alongside state-owned enterprises.”
In an interview with The New York Times, Jin described his detention as a “harsh jail environment” and said he had expected to spend about 15 years in prison before his unexpected release.
He said dozens of inmates were confined to a room of about 1,000 square feet, where prisoners spent their days seated on benches unless granted permission to stand, while nights were spent sleeping together on a platform bed.
According to the newspaper, officials repeatedly urged him to plead guilty. Although he admitted founding Beijing Zion Church and continuing worship after it was shut down by authorities, he insisted those activities were lawful.
“[My release] may be because everybody knows President Xi personally made the decision,” Jin said. “Otherwise, this wouldn’t be possible.”
“I hope people don’t think ‘We succeeded’ and forget the others,” Jin added. “We must go all out and speak out. That’s what my family did, and look at the result.”
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