A man walks into the Zion church in Beijing on May 21, 2018. Andy Wong/AP
A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers is urging President Donald Trump to press for the release of detained Chinese pastor Ezra Jin Mingri ahead of his anticipated May meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
In a March 24 letter, lawmakers including Sens. James Lankford (R-Okla.), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), and Tim Kaine (D-Va.), along with Reps. Riley Moore (R-W.Va.) and Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.), called on the president to advocate for the release of not only Jin but also other Christians and religious minorities imprisoned for their beliefs in China.
The group emphasized the need for concrete action, urging the administration to invoke the International Religious Freedom Act to impose targeted sanctions and visa restrictions on individuals responsible for severe violations of religious liberty. They also encouraged continued prioritization of international religious freedom within broader U.S.–China policy.
Speaking to The Associated Press at the time, Sean Long, a Chinese Zion Church pastor studying in the United States, described the situation as deeply alarming.
“This is a very disturbing and distressing moment,” he said. “It is a brutal violation of freedom of religion, which is written into the Chinese constitution. We want our pastors to be released immediately.”
Related Stories
Long said he first learned of the arrests through dozens of church leaders across China, who shared photos and videos in a group chat showing police entering church facilities.
Zion Church is one of China’s largest unregistered “house churches,” operating outside government control. Such congregations defy state regulations requiring worship to take place only in officially sanctioned churches.
Under Xi’s leadership, Chinese authorities have intensified restrictions on independent religious groups over the past decade.
Reports have documented actions such as the confiscation of Bibles and the closure of churches.
These efforts are part of a broader campaign to “sinicize” religion; aligning religious practice with the priorities of the officially atheist Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and limiting any perceived challenge to its authority.
In 2017, the CCP’s religious affairs department published an article saying that churches must endorse the party’s leadership as part of “sinicization.”
“Only Sinicized churches can obtain God’s love,” the article stated.
The state-backed Chinese Catholic church has also stressed the need to remain independent of the Vatican and to “Sinicize” itself.
The Epoch Times reached out to the White House for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.