An American pastor detained in China for nearly 20 years has been released
The U.S. State Department says a Christian pastor from California has been freed from China after nearly 20 years behind bars and is back home in the U.S. Advocacy groups say 68-year-old David Lin was detained after he entered China in 2006, was convicted of contract fraud and sentenced to life in prison
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Christian pastor from California has been freed from China after nearly 20 years behind bars and is back home in the U.S., the State Department said Monday.
David Lin, 68, was detained after he entered China in 2006, later convicted of contract fraud and sentenced to life in prison, according to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom and advocacy groups.
“Praise God! We got the call late last night!!! Dad is free and over Alaska now,” the pastor’s daughter, Alice Lin, said by text message Sunday to Bob Fu, a longtime supporter and the founder of China Aid, an U.S.-based advocacy group for persecuted activists in China. Fu shared with The Associated Press a screenshot of the text sent before the Lins reunited.
The Biden administration has been working on David Lin's case and those of other wrongly detained Americans in China for years and have raised them at every meeting with senior Chinese officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s meeting this summer with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Laos. Such meetings aim to keep communication open between Washington and Beijing despite escalating tensions.
