Select China Committee Begs Trump to Pressure Xi Jinping to Release Religious Worshippers

A key congressional panel met Tuesday to urge President Donald Trump to discuss the release of imprisoned Christian worshippers, some of whom are American citizens, from China during his upcoming meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

The hearing from the Congressional-Executive Commission on China comes after the last time the two world leaders met, and the People’s Republic of China released Pastor Ezra Jin, who was imprisoned by the Chinese government for 200 days after he was charged with fraud and running a non-state-sponsored entity, which he described as a church, Jin told the Daily Signal before the hearing.

“Today’s hearing is a heartfelt appeal to Xi Jinping, let these wonderful people go,” said Committee Chairman Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., who also introduced a resolution in 2025 urging the release of an American imprisoned in China. “This summit is a golden opportunity for the president to do that.”

Smith added that he will be” immediately in touch with Secretary of State Marco Rubio after this hearing” to relay the committee’s findings to him and to urge Trump to “look Xi Jinping in the eyes and advocate for the release of the prisoners.”

Jin’s daughter, Grace Jin, who translated her father’s testimony, added during the hearing that at the time of her father’s arrest, he was detained by the government alongside 17 pastors and church leaders for “running an illegal operation.”

Jin said some of the pastors he was imprisoned with are still being held in detention despite having served their sentences, while others are no longer imprisoned but are not allowed to leave China despite having the proper documentation to immigrate to the United States.

He then pleaded with committee members to urge Trump to pressure Xi Jinping to release the other worshippers who were arrested alongside him.

“If you are in church spirit and see that your fellow believers are being persecuted, you should stand alongside the persecuted,” the pastor added.

The pastor also shed light on the government-approved churches in China, which only conduct worship approved by the Chinese Communist Party and even downplay the inhumane conditions Jin described during his detention.

“The only churches that were allowed to be opened had to be sponsored by China; the only Bibles that are allowed in China have to be sponsored by China,” Jin stated. “When I was in prison, I also wasn’t allowed to have a Bible.”

This is ironic, Jin added, because China produces most of the world’s Bibles, but those Bibles aren’t even available for Chinese citizens who wish to purchase them.

“So there was no way for me to preach the gospel” Jin added.

The reason the communist party persecutes faith regardless of denomination, Jin told the Daily Signal before the hearing, is that communists see themselves as an ideology and do not want their citizens to place their faith elsewhere.

The hearing also focused on worshippers from multiple other faith traditions, including Uyghur Muslims and Falun Gong practitioners.

Rushan Abbas, the founder and executive director of the Campaign for Uyghurs, who also testified at the hearing, shed light on China’s repression, which extends beyond the country’s borders.

During her testimony, she explained how the government retaliated against her sister for embracing her religion.

“In 2024, the CCP abducted my sister, 64, and sentenced her to 24 years in prison. They still haven’t released any evidence of her well-being,” Abbas said.

“My sister’s case is one of transnational aggression. …Now the CCP’s transnational aggression has reached every aspect of my life. I have received anonymous videos asking me what color rifle I would like to be shot with,” she added.

Erping Zhang, a spokesperson for the Falun Gong, a member of a spiritual movement rooted in the Buddhist tradition, added that they, too, have continued to face shutdowns and death threats from Chinese government officials and their affiliates.

The two leaders are scheduled to meet at the White House on Thursday.

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