Xi Jinping’s “gift” to Donald Trump analyzed by a Chinese Christian. We are grateful for Pastor Jin, but we cannot forget that many other Christians are still in prison.
by Feng Reng
On the morning of July 4, 2026, as the United States welcomed the 250th anniversary of its founding, Pastor Jin Mingri of Beijing Zion Church was released and arrived in Los Angeles, USA. As a Chinese Christian in Los Angeles, I heard the news as early as that morning from Pastor Zhang Boli of Harvest Chinese Christian Church.
Pastor Zhang Boli said in his early-morning sharing that he received a phone call from Pastor Jin Mingri’s wife, Liu Anna, early that day. She told him that Pastor Jin had already arrived at Los Angeles Airport and was resting near the airport. Pastor Zhang then also spoke with Pastor Jin on the phone.
According to Pastor Zhang’s account, Pastor Jin said that he originally did not know he would be sent to the United States. In the middle of the night, the prison authorities suddenly took him away, and at first, he thought he was being transferred to another prison. Later, the personnel handed him his passport. What surprised him was that there was no U.S. visa in the passport. They told him that this was done according to Xi Jinping’s instructions, to let him go to the United States to reunite with his family, and warned him not to speak recklessly upon arrival and to “live well.”
Pastor Jin also expressed his thanks over the phone for everyone’s prayers for him and for the persecuted churches in China.
When I heard this news, I was deeply shaken. A few months ago, we were still fasting and praying in Los Angeles for Pastor Jin Mingri and for the persecuted house churches in China; now, on the morning of America’s Independence Day, he has already arrived in the very city where we live. All of this came too suddenly and is too moving and worthy of gratitude.
For me, this is not only a piece of news but also a testimony to freedom happening right around me. July 4 is the day the United States commemorates its independence, freedom, and constitutional system, and 2026 marks the 250th anniversary of America’s founding. On such a special day, a pastor who has long been on the hearts of brothers and sisters in China’s house churches came out of imprisonment by the CCP regime, arrived in Los Angeles, and reunited with his family. This makes me deeply feel that “freedom” is not an abstract political concept but a real state of life in which a person can leave prison, embrace his family again, and breathe the air of freedom.
I especially cannot forget the detail that Pastor Jin thought he was “going to be transferred to another prison.” When a person is taken away in the middle of the night, and the first thing he thinks of is not freedom but another transfer, this itself shows the long-term fear endured by detainees under China’s authoritarian system. But this time, Pastor Jin Mingri was not taken to another prison—he was taken onto a plane bound for the United States.
On the evening of January 9, 2026, I attended a “fasting and prayer meeting for persecuted churches in China” at Harvest Chinese Christian Church in Los Angeles. That night, we prayed for Beijing Zion Church, Chengdu Early Rain Covenant Church, Guiyang Living Stone Church, and many other Chinese house churches undergoing persecution. As a choir member, I stood on the stage and personally heard many testimonies about persecution, detention, harassment, separation, and perseverance. That night, I deeply felt that the suffering of China’s house churches is not distant news but the real cross borne by brothers and sisters.
Now, Pastor Jin Mingri’s release and arrival in Los Angeles make me think again of that fasting and prayer meeting. At that time, we wept and prayed for the churches in China; a few months later, in the same city, we heard the news of Pastor Jin’s arrival. Pastor Jin thanked everyone for their prayers during the phone call, and this also made me feel that the intercession and advocacy of overseas churches are not meaningless.
Of course, Pastor Jin Mingri’s release does not mean that the situation of religious freedom in China has improved. On the contrary, it reminds us that many people still lack freedom. The CCP authorities have long suppressed Beijing Zion Church; the church’s gatherings were banned, and pastors and coworkers were monitored, summoned, restricted, and arrested. Pastor Jin’s release is a grace worthy of gratitude, but the systemic persecution faced by China’s house churches has not ended because of this.
Chengdu Early Rain Covenant Church, Guiyang Living Stone Church, Linfen Golden Lampstand Church, and many grassroots house churches that do not appear in international media still live under the shadow of surveillance, harassment, bans, and arrests. And many prisoners of conscience and believers—including Pastor Wang Yi, Pastor Yang Rongli, Zhang Zhan, Gao Zhisheng, and others—still need continued attention from the international community.
On this day of America’s 250th Independence anniversary, I am grateful, on the one hand, for this country’s system of freedom, and, on the other hand, heavy-hearted that China still does not have genuine freedom of belief. True religious freedom should not be merely a diplomatic arrangement in individual cases, nor the release of a few people under international pressure, but rather the basic right of every person to freely worship God, freely express their faith, and not be convicted for attending a house church.
Pastor Jin Mingri’s arrival in Los Angeles is a testimony to freedom and also a starting point for continued advocacy. We thank God for his release, and we thank all those who worked for it; but we cannot, because one person has been released, forget that many others are still in prison.
On January 9, 2026, I fasted and prayed in Los Angeles for persecuted churches in China. On the morning of July 4, 2026, I heard for the first time in Los Angeles the news that Pastor Jin Mingri had been released and had arrived.
From the prayer meeting to the airport, from prison to freedom, from the fear of nighttime transfer to reunion on America’s Independence Day—all of this makes me believe even more: darkness is not the final answer, and prison is not the outcome.
May Pastor Jin Mingri’s release be the beginning of the release of more imprisoned believers. May China’s house churches continue to stand firm under persecution. Overseas Chinese churches can no longer remain silent. May we continue to remember those who are bound, as though bound together with them.
Feng Reng was a businessman in China and a dissident who escaped the country in 2022. He is currently based in Los Angeles. He converted to Christianity overseas and became a member of Pastor Zhang Boli’s Harvest Chinese Christian Church. He has contributed articles to several newspapers and magazines about the persecution of Christians in China.
