Xi Freed One Pastor in July After Trump Asked. He Landed at Andrews Wednesday With Eight Still Inside.
Trump met Xi on the tarmac at Andrews on Wednesday. Ezra Jin walked out of detention in July because Trump asked for him in May. A federal commission has put eight more names in front of the President, and the full slate of talks begins Thursday morning.
The plane came down at Joint Base Andrews on Wednesday afternoon. Trump was on the tarmac. So was the First Lady, and an honor guard. Xi Jinping and Peng Liyuan came down the stairs to a welcome presidents do not usually give. Visiting leaders are received at the White House. This one was met at the runway.
Eight days earlier, in a hall at the Museum of the Bible, a pastor from Beijing closed a three hour briefing on what the Chinese state does to churches. Ezra Jin founded Zion Church. Police took him in October 2025 along with dozens of his leaders and members. He spent nine months in detention. In May, Trump raised his name with Xi in Beijing. In July, Jin walked out, and Beijing let him leave for the United States. "A China without human dignity, a China without religious freedom, it's not something that we can accept," he told the room.
Eight of his people are still held. The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom printed their names in a statement on September 14: Wang Lin, Yin Huibin, Wang Cong, Lin Shucheng, Liu Zhenbin, Gao Yingjia, Elder Wang Zhong, Wu Qiuyu. The commission's vice chair, CeCe Heil, drew the only conclusion the record allows. "In releasing Pastor Jin, President Xi showed that he has the power to release FoRB prisoners if he so desires."
The full slate of talks is Thursday. The state dinner is Thursday night. Friday there is tea, a tour of the National Archives, and a flight home. Somewhere in those hours, someone at the table has to say the names.
