US pastor released after 18 years in Chinese prison
Pastor Lin, a US citizen, has been imprisoned in China since 2006 on the charges of contract fraud, a charge often used against leaders of house churches not aligned with the Chinese Communist Party. He spent the past 18 years in prison and was suspectedly released as a move from the Chinese government to ease the tension between China and the US.
David Lin, a US citizen and protestant pastor, was released on September 15 from Beijing No. 2 Prison, where he spent the last 18 years. In 2006, he faced arrest while assisting in the establishment of churches in China. The charges against him were contract fraud, a charge often used against church leaders who do not align themselves with the Chinese Communist Party-controlled Three-Self Patriotic Association. Through these associations, the government tries to influence and control all religious groups in the country, including Christians.
Pastor Lin’s sentence was reduced many times, but his release was scheduled for 2029. It is highly likely that the People’s Republic of China released him now with the intent to ease the tension between the Chinese and US governments. The Congressional-Executive Commission on China, in a post on X, stated:
“We welcome the release of #DavidLin after 18 years of unjust detention and hope more releases are forthcoming,”
David Lin was one out of three US citizens imprisoned in China on a priority list of the US State Department. The other two are Kai Li and Mark Siwan; the latter was sentenced to death in 2019 on drug charges but listed together with the other two as wrongfully detained by the US State Department.
Source: Radio Free Asia
