Hong Kong —
A pastor who founded one of China’s most prominent underground churches has been released from prison and reunited with his family in the United States, his daughter told CNN.
Ezra Jin, the founder of Zion Church, was among dozens of members caught up in a sweeping crackdown by Chinese authorities late last year.
Chinese authorities have long seen Christianity as an unwelcome foreign influence and a threat to government control. Religious practice is legal but tightly controlled and surveilled by the government, which registers “official” state-sanctioned churches.
Jin’s release came after US President Donald…