Source: The Christian Post, September 16, 2024
California Pastor David Lin has been released from a Chinese prison after nearly two decades and has returned to the United States, ending a case that sparked an international outcry from free speech advocates and U.S. officials who say he was wrongfully detained.
Lin’s daughter, Alice Lin, told the outlet that the State Department notified her on Saturday that Chinese authorities had released her father from prison and that he would arrive in San Antonio, Texas, on Sunday.
“No words can express the joy we have—we have a lot of time to make up for,” she said.
Lin was active in China’s underground house church movement, which involves discreet religious gatherings often held in private homes and not connected to state-sponsored religious organizations. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has noted that this movement “has long faced hostility from Chinese authorities,” and participants often face “intimidation, harassment, arrest, and harsh sentences.”
Although Lin has staunchly maintained his innocence, he did not raise the attention of his case because he felt his imprisonment was a God-ordained mission field, his daughter said.