Trump pledges to raise detained pastor's case with Xi Jinping during Beijing visit as family pleads for help

Five weeks earlier nan commencement of her 3rd child, Grace Drexel sat successful Washington speaking astir her father, nan grandfather her children hardly know, and nan dream that President Donald Trump mightiness thief bring him home.

Her father, Pastor Ezra Jin, has spent nan past 7 months detained successful China alongside dozens of different Christian leaders successful what advocates picture arsenic 1 of nan largest crackdowns connected an underground Protestant religion successful caller years.

Now, arsenic Trump visits Beijing for meetings pinch Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Drexel says her family is clinging to a uncommon infinitesimal of dream aft Trump publically pledged to raise Pastor Jin’s imprisonment straight pinch Xi.

PRESIDENT TRUMP MUST PUT AMERICAN HOSTAGES FIRST IN HIGH-STAKES BEIJING SUMMIT

Ezra Jin Mingri, caput pastor of nan Zion Church, poses successful Beijing connected Sept. 12, 2018, days aft officials unopen down 1 of China’s largest underground Protestant churches. (Fred Dufour/AFP via Getty Images)

"I’ll bring it up," Trump told a newsman erstwhile asked whether he planned to talk nan detained pastor during nan trip.

"It’s specified a tremendous honor," Drexel told Fox News Digital. "To person 1 of nan astir powerful men successful nan world cognize my begetter by sanction and mention his lawsuit to General Secretary Xi Jinping."

White House spokesperson Olivia Wales told Fox News Digital, "There is nary greater champion for belief state astir nan world than President Trump."

For Drexel, this could extremity years of suffering. Her family has been separated for almost a decade — her mother and younger brothers fled China successful 2018 aft authorities unopen down Zion Church’s beingness sanctuary successful Beijing, fearing they could go collateral targets successful nan increasing crackdown connected Christians.

Pastor Jin chose to enactment down pinch his community.

"My begetter really had galore opportunities to use for a green card," Drexel said. "He felt nan calling for China."

Drexel herself has not seen her begetter successful personification since 2020.

CHINA FORMALLY ARRESTS 18 LEADERS OF UNDERGROUND ZION CHURCH AMID RELIGIOUS CRACKDOWN

Ezra Jin pinch his daughter, Grace Drexel, earlier Chinese authorities detained nan pastor during a crackdown connected independent Christian churches. (Family photo) (Fox News)

Now pregnant pinch her 3rd child, she says each she wants is for her begetter to yet reunite pinch his family.

"We would really, really emotion for our children to besides acquisition and study from their Grandpa," she said.

Drexel described her begetter not arsenic a governmental dissident, but arsenic a pastor whose only ngo was to stay religious to Christianity extracurricular Communist Party control.

"My begetter is simply a pastor successful China and for illustration Christians everywhere, he believed that nan religion should only person 1 God and service 1 God," she told Fox News Digital.

She described Zion Church arsenic independent from authorities oversight and profoundly rooted successful Scripture and organization service.

REPORT DETAILS RISING PRESSURE ON UNDERGROUND CATHOLICS AS CHINA DENIES CRACKDOWN

 U.S. President Donald Trump reviews an grant defender pinch Chinese President Xi Jinping during a invited ceremonial astatine nan Great Hall of nan People connected May 14, 2026 successful Beijing, China. President Trump is gathering pinch President Xi Jinping successful Beijing to reside nan Iran conflict, waste and acquisition imbalances, and nan Taiwan business while establishing caller bilateral boards for economical and AI oversight. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

"We helped pinch nan nine and nan organization astir us, emotion our neighbors, and to emotion God," she said.

But beyond nan domiciled of pastor, Drexel says she simply knew her begetter arsenic a gentle man devoted to those astir him.

"Ultimately, I cognize my begetter arsenic conscionable a very gentle and benignant man," she said. "He is not very confrontational generally. He conscionable loved everyone astir him."

"He ne'er moreover criticized anyone, including his children, overmuch arsenic we were increasing up," she added.

Drexel tearfully said that relatives learned that her begetter had been handcuffed, his caput shaved, and that he was struggling to person medicine while successful detention.

"And this benignant and gentle man is now successful prison," she said. "All because he was conscionable starring a church."

The crackdown against Zion Church began years earlier Pastor Jin’s arrest.

According to Drexel, nan unit intensified astir 2016 and 2017 aft Xi Jinping rewrote China’s belief regulations and formally precocious nan argumentation known arsenic nan "Sinicization" of religion, an effort critics opportunity forces belief groups to align pinch Communist Party ideology.

Around that time, Zion Church became 1 of galore churches targeted by nan authorities.

Initially, Drexel says authorities officials demanded nan religion instal facial-recognition cameras wrong nan sanctuary to show worshipers.

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Ezra Jin leads a work astatine Zion Church successful China earlier authorities unopen down nan independent congregation amid a broader crackdown connected Christian churches. (Family photo)

"We told them each our services are public. You tin travel and position anytime," she said. "But we didn’t consciousness that we wanted to put an other magnitude of surveillance aliases power connected our congregation."

After nan religion refused, Drexel says authorities installed surveillance cameras successful nan building’s lobby alternatively and began systematically targeting religion members.

"Each and each personnel who came connected Sunday [was] being harassed," she said. Some worshipers mislaid jobs, others were forced retired of apartments, while immoderate families were threatened done their children’s acquisition and moreover their parents’ status benefits.

"It was each imaginable nether nan Chinese Communist Party if they wanted you to extremity doing something," she said.

Authorities yet confiscated nan church’s spot and unopen down its beingness believe space. Pastor Jin past moved services online and into smaller location gatherings, which led authorities to later impeach religion leaders of nan "illegal usage of accusation networks" because of those online and decentralized believe activities.

But she says her father’s lawsuit is only 1 portion of a overmuch larger crackdown unfolding crossed China.

CRUZ LEADS SENATE PUSH TO HOLD CHINA ACCOUNTABLE FOR BEIJING CHURCH CRACKDOWN

The family of Ezra Jin, whose girl Grace Drexel says they person been separated from him for years amid China’s crackdown connected independent Christian churches. (Family photo)

"There are truthful galore pastors and religion leaders and churches being persecuted successful China actively today," she added. "We cognize that location are hundreds of pastors that are presently successful situation aliases are successful detention."

"This is simply a very captious play successful China," Drexel said. "And it’s very disheartening and very scary for galore Christians successful China."

The broader persecution run against Christians, Uyghur Muslims, Tibetan Buddhists, and Falun Gong practitioners is besides documented successful "China’s War connected Faith," nan precocious released book by erstwhile Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback.

Brownback profiles believers imprisoned, tortured, and surveilled for practicing belief extracurricular state-approved institutions and argues that nan Chinese Communist Party progressively sees independent religion itself arsenic a threat to Party authority.

For Drexel, Trump’s determination to publically mention her father’s sanction represents much than diplomacy.

"We dream that arsenic nan 2 leaders are gathering together that they will some person a softening of nan hearts and will merchandise my begetter and let him to travel to nan U.S.," she said.

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In this photograph taken Aug. 4, 2018, Pastor Ezra Jin Mingri leads a people connected nan basics of Christian beliefs astatine nan Zion Church successful Beijing, China. (Ng Han Guan/AP Photo)

In a connection to Fox News Digital, Chinese Embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu said nan Chinese authorities protects "freedom of belief belief successful accordance pinch nan law" and based on that group of each taste groups successful China bask belief freedom. Liu pointed to charismatic figures showing astir 200 cardinal belief believers successful China, on pinch much than 380,000 clerical personnel, astir 5,500 belief groups and much than 140,000 registered places of worship.

Liu said Beijing regulates belief affairs involving "national interests and nan nationalist interest" while opposing what it describes arsenic forbidden aliases criminal activities carried retired nether nan guise of religion. He besides accused overseas countries and media outlets of interfering successful China’s soul affairs nether nan pretext of belief state and urged journalists to "respect nan facts" and extremity what he described arsenic "attacking and smearing" China’s belief policies and belief state record.