Former US President George W Bush has met with Pastor Ezra Jin, to highlight his concern for China’s crackdown on house churches and dissidents.
The pair met at the Bush Institute on Monday, where the founder of the Beijing Zion Church recounted his experience of persecution.
Pastor Jin was among 30 Christian leaders detained in October 2025, as Chinese Communist Party officials attempted to stop the church from sharing teaching online. In July, he was released and reunited with family in America, following talks between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping.
Eight Zion Church leaders are still being held in prison awaiting trial on charges linked to church activities, with human rights observers warning about their treatment and deteriorating health.
A social media post from the George W Bush Presidential Center said: “Pastor Jin and President Bush discussed Pastor Jin’s family, his imprisonment, and the house church movement in China. President Bush spoke about his concern for prisoners of conscience in China”.
The former president is writing a book, The Call to Freedom, which will be released in 2027. He will reference the cases of other Christian prisoners of conscience in China and Hong Kong, including Jimmy Lai, Joshua Wong and Wang Yi.