Christians in China continue to face persecution for their faith. Religious persecution advocates had hoped that President Trump would mention the issue during his recent White House meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. So far, there is no indication it came up.
“I’m disappointed,” is how Todd Nettleton of The Voice of the Martyrs described his reaction after the two leaders met September 24. “I had hoped that that topic would come up,” he told CBN News.
Nettleton and other religious freedom advocates had urged the President to make the issue of China’s persecuted Christians a priority.
“I think every time one of our leaders here in the United States gets to sit down with the leader of a country where our brothers and sisters are being locked up in prison, are being persecuted for their faith, I hope they’re on the agenda at some point,” Nettleton explained. “Now, there’s obviously things that needed to be talked about. AI needed to be talked about, trade relationships needed to be talked about, but I hope every time we get an opportunity to bring up religious freedom, that it is part of the discussion.”
A bipartisan group of U.S. senators also went further, wanting pressure exerted to release detained pastors and other people of faith.
“To this date, eight leaders of Zion Church remain behind bars in China because of China’s attack on religious freedom,” said Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC). “These detainments are egregious, and they can’t be ignored.”
One recent example of U.S. diplomacy making a difference includes Pastor Ezra Jin, founder of Zion Church. His release in July followed President Trump applying a diplomatic push during an earlier meeting with President Xi in Beijing.
“I’m very grateful that during last summit in Beijing, President Trump mentioned my case to President Xi, now I’m free,” Jin said during an interview after his release.
Persecution, however, has increased against believers in China.
“You have churches being raided by the police and shut down. You have churches being forced to put cameras in, even registered churches, being forced to put cameras in their sanctuaries to monitor who’s there, what’s going on, what’s being said,” said Nettleton.
More than 200 church leaders are behind bars, including the urgent case of Pastor John Cao.
“He served his full seven-year prison sentence, but since his release from prison, he’s just in a bigger prison,” commented Nettleton. “He has not been allowed to leave China. He has not been given a passport, even though he has a green card to the U.S. His wife is an American citizen, and also, he is suffering from late-stage prostate cancer. So not only is he locked in China, but it seems like unless the Lord intervenes, his days are limited.”
Since his release from prison in 2024, the 67-year-old pastor has worked toward returning to his family in the U.S., with much urgency. However, prolonged passport processing has delayed his return.
Nettleton is encouraging Christians in America to act.
“We want to encourage people to pray, and that’s what persecuted Christians ask us to do. I also think as American citizens, we want to let our leaders know this is something we care about,” said Nettleton.
