The leader of a prominent Chinese underground church was released from prison and traveled to the US after President Donald Trump raised his case directly.
The pastor, Ezra Jin, was detained last year following overnight raids across China that Christian groups said were among the harshest religious crackdowns in modern Chinese history.
Trump brought up Jin’s detention to Chinese leader Xi Jinping during his state visit to Beijing in May; his release offers a modest boost for US-China relations.
Beijing maintains strict controls over religion, which has led to the rise of underground churches.
“In China, any deference to an authority higher than the [Communist Party’s] can make you an enemy of the state,” The Free Press wrote in an analysis of Jin’s case.