When President Trump meets with Xi Jinping, the world will watch trade and Taiwan policy, but my focus is personal: I am asking a president who talks about strength and American values to use that bargaining power to win my father’s freedom. This piece lays out what happened to Pastor Ezra Jin Mingri and Zion Church, the campaign of repression he and his family have endured, the medical risks he faces, and why this is a test of American resolve on religious liberty. I explain how transnational harassment has followed us to the United States and close with a direct plea: bring my father home.
My father, Pastor Ezra Jin Mingri, founded Zion Church after humble beginnings in 2007. What started with 20 worshipers grew into one of China’s largest house churches, reaching thousands across dozens of cities, and that growth made the church a target. His faith-led work put him squarely at odds with authorities who insist on total control over religious life.
The Chinese government moved against Zion Church in 2018, banning it and seizing its property after leaders refused to install surveillance cameras to monitor congregants. Forced offline and out of their building, the church adapted by moving sermons online and organizing satellite gatherings to keep serving people. That resilience only escalated the pressure from Beijing.
CHINA FORMALLY ARRESTS 18 LEADERS OF UNDERGROUND ZION CHURCH AMID RELIGIOUS CRACKDOWN
Last October, police detained my father and roughly 30 other pastors and members in what human rights groups described as “the most extensive crackdown against the faith in decades.” Eighteen leaders remain in custody, including my father, accused of “illegally utilizing information networks” for offering biblical teaching online. These charges are thinly veiled attempts to criminalize worship and online ministry.
The legal defense has been systematically dismantled. Lead lawyer Zhang Kai had his license revoked in January, several other attorneys have been suspended, and those still on the case face harassment and intimidation. China is cutting off legal access and trying to smother any independent advocacy for these detained believers.
My father has serious health concerns that make this detention even more dangerous. He has severe type 2 diabetes that in the past required hospitalization and ongoing, specialized care. When he was first detained, my grandmother’s attempt to bring his prescribed medicine was refused, and China has a pattern of denying medical treatment to political prisoners.
Pastor Ezra is no criminal. Zion Church was first on the ground after the 2008 Sichuan earthquake and filled vital gaps by feeding the poor, supporting broken families and running blood drives before the state confiscated the church space. Those acts of charity show the kind of quiet civic muscle that strengthens communities and aligns with American values of faith-based service.
What happens in China is not just a family matter; it is a direct challenge to the principles the United States was founded on. Freedom of religion is carved into the First Amendment and cited in recent Republican national security documents. When Beijing goes after believers, it undercuts the moral foundation that underpins global order and American leadership.
Ambassador Sam Brownback called China’s crackdown a “national security imperative” because, in his words, “if the world’s largest authoritarian state can eradicate religious freedom without consequences, it undermines the authority of America’s founding values and global leadership.” That is a blunt assessment: failing to respond hands Beijing a broader license to erode liberties everywhere.
Beijing’s reach has followed us. After we began speaking out, my mother received a threatening call from someone pretending to be a U.S. federal agent, pressuring her to return to China. Her car tires were slashed in the night, I have been surveilled while attending meetings in Washington, D.C., and my husband has been targeted by state-backed hacking attempts intended to intimidate us into silence.
Xi has said he hopes 2026 will be a year in which China and the U.S. “advance toward mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation.” That rhetoric rings hollow while Beijing imprisons relatives of U.S. citizens for practicing their faith and reaches into American soil to punish dissent. If the United States truly values religious freedom, it must act.
In about two months I will give birth to my third child, and my older children have never met their grandfather because China has placed an exit ban on my father since 2018. I am asking President Trump to use the leverage he has, stand up for religious liberty, and help bring my father home so he can hold his grandchild. This is a test of American resolve and the kind of leadership I believe a Republican president should deliver. Please, bring my father home.
