Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Chris Coons (D-DE) introduced a resolution condemning the Chinese Communist Party for the detainment of Pastor Ezra Jin and other members of Zion Church.
On October 10, Jin and others were abducted in what is considered the “largest coordinated, nationwide crackdown against a Christian urban house church in more than 40 years,” the resolution states.
The file goes on to declare that the Senate condemns the pastor’s detainment, demanding that he and other churchgoers be released, and “reaffirms the commitment of the United States to promote religious freedom and tolerance around the world and to help provide protection and relief to religious minorities facing persecution and violence.”
In a statement on the resolution, Cruz said the CCP “fears anything it cannot directly control, perhaps most of all, faith. The United States has powerful tools to provide protection and relief to people facing persecution and violence, and we should use those tools unless and until China releases the members of the Zion Church.”
Coons similarly stated that the Chinese government has persecuted religious groups for years. “Just in the last few days, they’ve arrested Pastor Ezra Jin and other members of the Zion Church for simply doing what so many of us do each day: worshiping their God,” he said. “I urge President Xi to release them along with all political prisoners.”
Senators joining Cruz and Coons in the resolution are Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Tim Scott (R-SC), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Jim Justice (R-WV), Rick Scott (R-FL), and Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD).
Secretary of State Marco Rubio also condemned the crackdown on Zion Church, stating that the matter “further demonstrates how the CCP exercises hostility towards Christians who reject Party interference in their faith and choose to worship at unregistered house churches.”
