ELISSA NADWORNY, HOST:
In China, religious freedom is tightly restricted, and many have taken their worship online. Last year, leaders of an underground church with followers across the country were arrested in a nationwide crackdown. In July, its founder was unexpectedly released and flown to the U.S. Danny Vincent has this story.
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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Speaking in Mandarin).
DANNY VINCENT, BYLINE: You're listening to prayers in Mandarin Chinese.
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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Speaking in Mandarin).
VINCENT: But I'm not inside a church. I'm logged onto a Zoom link. Microphones are set to mute. Some cameras are left on. Faces appear in tiny rectangle boxes across the screen.
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VINCENT: This is the Zion Church. This crackdown drew international attention.
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UNIDENTIFIED MUSICAL ARTISTS: (Singing in non-English language).
VINCENT: China is officially an atheist state, but Christianity has grown significantly in China over recent decades. Religion is tightly controlled by the state.
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UNIDENTIFIED PASTOR: (Non-English language spoken).
VINCENT: In October last year, Pastor Ezra Jin, Zion's founder, was arrested with 18 other pastors in a raid. Police accused him of illegally using information networks. Jin spent 266 days in detention. His case became one of the topics discussed in the meeting between President Trump and Xi Jinping. Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, Trump said Xi was considering Pastor Jin's release.
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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: I think he's giving very serious consideration to the pastor's - said he's giving it very serious consideration.
VINCENT: In July, Pastor Jin was suddenly released. Chinese officials told him he was guilty of all charges, but they would allow him to leave. He believes his release resulted from President Trump's intervention. Speaking from Washington, he told NPR of the moment he was freed.
EZRA JIN: (Through interpreter) It really felt like a dream. In less than 24 hours, I had gone from prison to Los Angeles. They took me onto the plane. Only then did I know the plane was flying to Los Angeles.
VINCENT: In 2018, authorities closed Zion's physical church building in Beijing. The congregation broke into smaller groups. During the pandemic, it moved further online.
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UNIDENTIFIED PASTOR: (Non-English language spoken).
VINCENT: They also began sending preachers to different places, Jin said.
JIN: (Through interpreter) Not only to attend our worship services online but also to organize in person church services. As a result, over the past few years, we have established dozens of small gatherings in dozens of cities.
VINCENT: But the spread of the underground congregations rattled the authorities.
FENGGANG YANG: All religions are in competition of atheism, and atheism is a precondition to join the Chinese Communist Party.
VINCENT: This is Fenggang Yang, a religion expert at Purdue University. He says that the Communist Party sees Christianity as a threat. Pastor Jin argues Christians in China are exercising their constitutional rights.
JIN: (Through interpreter) On the one hand, they want to vigorously develop the internet, but on the other, they restrict religious groups from using it. I think that is very contradictory.
VINCENT: By some estimates, there are as many as 100 million Christians in China, roughly as many as Communist Party members, Professor Yang explains.
YANG: The number of Christians has become so big. How can you actually manage that? There are already tens of thousands of churches. How many police power do you need to prevent them have Sunday worship service? It's simply impossible. It's impractical. If you control one platform, there's another platform. New platforms can emerge quickly.
VINCENT: Yang says that China also attempts to police discussions beyond its own borders. He says in June, he was prevented from speaking at a Christian conference in America.
YANG: The chair of the board of directors of the U.S.-China Catholic Association contacted me saying that he was confronted by two officials in Shanghai when he was visiting China, and officials asked him to remove my name from their program.
VINCENT: The association admitted they withdrew their invitation to Professor Yang as a keynote speaker after the incident. China's foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment from NPR. For Pastor Jin, the consequences are more personal. Eight members of the Zion Church are still detained in China.
JIN: (Through interpreter) There is a lot of pain in my heart. Often, I can't sleep. I can't sleep.
(Non-English language spoken).
VINCENT: The Zion Church continues to hold services online. Pastor Jin insists it represents no threat to the state. For NPR News, I'm Danny Vincent in Hong Kong.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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