VOC Welcomes the Release of Pastor Jin “Ezra” Mingri from CCP Captivity

The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation welcomes the release of Pastor Jin “Ezra” Mingri of Zion Church after more than eight months of arbitrary detention in communist China.

Pastor Jin’s detention was part of a sweeping campaign against Zion Church that began in late 2025, when Chinese authorities arrested roughly 30 of the church’s pastors and senior leaders across the country. The operation was widely seen as the most extensive crackdown on an “unregistered” Chinese church in four decades. While 14 of those detained have reportedly been released, at least eight remain in custody. Pastor Jin initially faced charges of “illegally using information networks” after continuing to broadcast sermons online following the government’s 2018 closure of Zion Church’s physical meeting place. Authorities later changed the accusation to “illegal business operations,” but released him without imposing a sentence.

Although Pastor Jin’s release is a major step forward for him, his family, and for Zion Church, the CCP’s attacks on religious institutions and faithful people have not relented. From the repression of Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, and other faith-based organizations to the persecution of key individuals, such as Jimmy Lai, China remains one of the world’s worst religious freedom violators. That is why the U.S. State Department consistently categorizes China, alongside other communist and communist-legacy regimes such as Cuba, Eritrea, Nicaragua, and North Korea, as a “country of particular concern” under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998.

Late last year, VOC was honored to host Pastor Jin’s daughter, Grace Jin Drexel, at the Victims of Communism Museum. Speaking at VOC’s China Forum, Grace discussed her father’s faith, persecution, and the fight for freedom in communist China.