WASHINGTON: A bipartisan group of US lawmakers has urged President Donald Trump to press China for the release of a detained Christian pastor when he meets President Xi Jinping next month, citing what they called “ongoing unjust imprisonment and persecution” of religious minorities.
In a letter, Senators James Lankford, Ted Budd, and Tim Kaine, along with lawmakers from both parties, urged Trump to raise the case of Pastor Ezra Jin Mingri, who they said was “arbitrarily detained on October 10, 2025, alongside other leaders of the Zion Church by the People’s Republic of China (PRC).”
The lawmakers wrote, “We encourage you to advocate for their release and request the PRC to allow Mr. Jin to leave China, in addition to raising concerns regarding the ongoing unjust imprisonment and persecution of Christians, Tibetans, and Uyghurs, among other religious and ethnic minority groups across China.”
The appeal comes ahead of a planned US-China summit, where human rights issues are expected to feature alongside strategic and economic concerns.