Pastor David Lin and his family are rejoicing as his nearly two decades of incarceration in communist China have finally come to an end.
The U.S. State Department maintained that Lin had been wrongfully detained since he was first sent to jail in 2006 for his role as a missionary in the country as well as his work in non-state sanctioned house churches.
“We welcome David Lin’s release from prison in the People’s Republic of China. He has returned to the United States and now gets to see his family for the first time in nearly 20 years,” says Department of State spokesperson Matthew Miller.
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Lin, now 68 years old, was “formally” arrested in 2009 for “contract fraud” over a license for a ministry he applied for in China, which allegedly was denied.
“No words can express the joy we have—we have a lot of time to make up for,” Lin’s daughter, Alice, told Politico.
The Chinese embassy declined any comment on the prisoner release.
China currently ranks 19th on the Open Doors World Watch List for its intense persecution of Christians under the communist regime.
As reported by Open Doors:
The most overt persecution in China often takes place in regions where Buddhism or Islam are the majority religions—anyone who converts to Christianity is seen as a traitor to their ethnicity and family. These believers may be threatened or even harmed, all to convince them to return to the family’s religion.
Christians around the world have rejoiced as the news of Pastor Lin went viral, but there are still many more suffering under the heavy-handed persecution of the CCP. Pray that believers have the strength and perseverance to endure these trials, and that their captors see the light of Jesus in them and repent of their sins and accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
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James Lasher is staff writer for Charisma Media.