David Lin (pastor)

Last updated
David Lin
Born
China
Citizenship American

David Lin is an American pastor who was detained and imprisoned by the Chinese government from 2006 to 2024.

Contents

Biography

Lin was born in China, later immigrating to the United States and gaining citizenship. [1] He worked as an economic advisor to state officials in Iowa and California, later living in Orange County, California with his wife. [2] [3] He converted to Christianity following his wife's conversion. [2] Lin has a daughter, Alice, who was born in the 1980s, and a son. [4]

According to China Aid, Lin traveled to China frequently in the 1990s to support churches there, and he registered as a Christian minister with the Chinese government in 1999. [2] [5] [6] The organization also has said Lin attempted to receive a missionary license from the Chinese government. [6]

Imprisonment

In 2006, Lin returned to China in an attempt to establish a Christian missionary training center in Beijing. [7] He was detained that same year, after working with a "house church" which was unauthorized by the Chinese government. [6] [8] He was formally arrested on charges of contract fraud in 2009. [6]

Lin was convicted of contract fraud, and was sentenced to life in prison. [6] He later received several sentence shortenings beginning in 2012; [9] prior to his release in 2024, Lin had been scheduled to be released in 2029. [3] [5] During his imprisonment, Lin was housed with other foreign nationals. [2] He established a prayer group with his fellow prisoners and translated the Bible into Chinese. [10] [5] He initially asked his family not to petition for his release, seeing his imprisonment as an opportunity from God to evangelize. In December 2018, his attitude shifted, following deteriorating health. [2] He had lost at least five teeth as of 2023. [4] His family began speaking about Lin's imprisonment publicly in 2019. [4]

On September 15, 2024, the U.S. State Department announced that Lin had been freed and had arrived in San Antonio, Texas. [6] [11] At the time of his release, Lin had been one of three Americans detained in China whom the State Department considered wrongfully detained. [5]

References

  1. ↑ Wang, Vivian (2024-09-16). "China Frees American Pastor After Nearly 20 Years in Prison". The New York Times . Archived from the original on 2024-09-17.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Xiaosi, Mao (2022-12-08). "David Lin: China Promises to Free in 2030 American Pastor Detained Since 2006". Bitter Winter. CESNUR . Retrieved 2024-09-18.
  3. 1 2 Kine, Phelim (2024-09-15). "Beijing releases long-jailed US citizen". Politico.
  4. 1 2 3 Feng, John (2023-02-05). ""Praying for a miracle": The Americans detained in China". Newsweek. Retrieved 2024-09-18.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Hansler, Jennifer; Gan, Nectar (2024-09-16). "An American pastor held in a Chinese jail for nearly two decades is finally home". CNN. Retrieved 2024-09-18.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Tucker, Eric; Tang, Didi (2024-09-16). "An American pastor detained in China for nearly 20 years has been released". AP News. Associated Press . Retrieved 2024-09-17.
  7. ↑ Inocencio, Ramy (2024-09-16). "China frees David Lin, American pastor who U.S. government says was wrongfully detained for 18 years". CBS News. Retrieved 2024-09-18.
  8. ↑ Comerford, Ruth (2024-09-16). "US pastor freed from Chinese prison after 18 years". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 2024-09-18.
  9. ↑ Feng, Emily (2024-09-16). "China frees American pastor after 18 years in detention". NPR.
  10. ↑ "USCIRF Commissioners Adopt American Pastor David Lin Through the Religious Prisoners of Conscience Project". USCIRF . 2024-09-17. Retrieved 2024-09-18.
  11. ↑ "China frees American pastor who US claims was wrongly jailed, State Dept says". Reuters . 2024-09-15.
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