After Almost 20 Years in Chinese Prison, American Pastor Finally Released

According to Open Door International’s World Watch List, China has the19th highest rate of Christian persecution out of 50 countries, with a 96% threat level for church life, 87% for national life, 77% for community life, and between 60% and almost 80% for the risks pertaining to family life, private life, and potential violence. One example of this persecution is shown in Pastor David Lin’s testimony, who, after spending 17 years wrongfully detained in China, was finally released on Monday.

The news has been heavily celebrated by Lin’s family, government officials who engaged in the release, as well as Christians around the world. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said, “I am extremely glad to hear David Lin was freed. His capture, like so many others, marks a rising trend of hostage diplomacy by authoritarians around the world.”

ChinaAid President Bob Fu shared with The Christian Post how, in communist China, “the top leadership is increasingly worried about the rapid growth of the Christian faith” — regarding both in “public presence” and “social influence.”

Lin felt called to serve the “unchurched” in China, according to his daughter, Alice Lin. She said he “had the vision to build a church and a Christian training center,” and that “there are many people inside [China] that need to hear God’s word.” And so, Lin took several trips to the country throughout the 1990s. But in 2006, he was detained only to be formally arrested in 2009.

It’s unlikely Lin expected to spend nearly 20 years of his life in Chinese prison for his faith, but as his daughter shared in a 2019 interview, “His last message to us as a free man ... he told us, ‘Don’t worry, God knows what He is doing. It is God’s wish that I am here. There are many people inside that need to hear God’s Word. Please don’t worry, but only pray for me.” When Lin was first arrested, he was sentenced to life in jail. However, over time, his sentence was reduced, and he was expected to be released by April 2030.

Some have attributed the early release to the external pressure placed on China to release the pastor. As World Magazine explained, “Though Chinese authorities have not commented on the situation, Lin’s release comes nearly three weeks after U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan visited Beijing” to discuss “the issue of American citizens who are wrongfully detained in China.” And “last year,” the outlet added, “the chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee urged President Joe Biden to call for their release.”

Arielle Del Turco, director of Family Research Council’s Center for Religious Liberty, explained in a comment to The Washington Stand, “It’s difficult to know exactly why the Chinese government released Lin early,” she said. “But we do know that the State Department was making a concerted effort to raise this case, among others, with Chinese counterparts.” Ultimately, “diplomatic pressure does work, and this may be another encouraging example of that.”

And while Lin’s arrest was “an absolute travesty,” Del Turco insisted that we have ample cause to “rejoice” over his newfound freedom. Yet at the same time, what happened to Lin should help us “recognize the grave injustice committed by the Chinese government here,” because “no one anywhere should be imprisoned for simply sharing their faith. Right now, people of faith in China — the world’s most populous country — face exactly that threat.” She added, “This serves as a reminder for Christians to pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ who are languishing in prison or endure other hardships directly for their faith.”

According to Del Turco, “The successful U.S. pressure that likely aided in Lin’s release shows once again that U.S. government advocacy for persecuted believers can do a great deal of good. The State Department deserves credit for its work on Lin’s case, and Secretary [Antony] Blinken should continue to raise the cases of religious prisoners of conscience around the world.”

Bob Fu, who also serves as senior fellow for International Religious Freedom at FRC, has been heavily involved in this case and continues to fight for the freedom of other known Americans imprisoned by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). On Sunday, he received a text from Lin’s daughter which read, “Praise God! We got the call late last night!!! Dad is free and over Alaska now.”

Fu shared in an exclusive comment to TWS, “ChinaAid welcomes pastor David Lin’s freedom after serving 18 years in CCP’s prison for trying to build an independent church in Beijing.” He continued, “The CCP should have never jailed pastor Lin after he was trapped [and] set up by corrupted CCP officials.” According to Fu, the CCP “falsely promised” Lin could “build an independent house church in Beijing,” only to later be “charged and sentenced for life as ‘business fraud.’”

Fu urged that the “CCP should stop this kind of hostage-taking game with the American western government by releasing all the prisoners of conscience like pastor Lin!” He concluded that “ChinaAid is determined to continue to strive for freedom of all prisoners of conscience in China and advance religious freedom for all.”