The United States has urged Beijing to release 30 influential Christian leaders who were detained a day earlier. The leaders are part of one of the country’s largest underground church networks. The arrests took place over the weekend during overnight raids across multiple cities, according to the US-based non-profit ChinaAid.

US condemns China’s detention of Zion Church leaders

Among those detained is Pastor Jin Mingri, also known as Ezra Jin. Jin is the founder of Beijing’s Zion Church and was reportedly taken into custody after a late-night search of his home by around ten police officers.

Slamming the move as a blatant attack on religious freedom, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement on Sunday, “This crackdown further demonstrates how the Chinese Communist Party e

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