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Chinese underground church pastor, father of US citizens, detained by authorities, family says
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The pastor of one of China’s biggest underground evangelical churches was arrested Friday in what appears to be a roundup of Christian leaders, and his family and followers fear for his safety.
Pastor Ezra Jin of Zion Church was detained by Chinese authorities, his daughter, Grace Jin, told Fox News Digital. Zion Church was at one point Beijing’s largest church. In a document provided to Fox News Digital by Grace, it states that Jin’s arrest came as nearly 30 Zion Church pastors and workers were detained or went missing across Beijing, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Chengdu, Beihai, Jiaxing and Huangdao.
The Associated Press reported that dozens of other church leaders in Bejing and at least five other provinces across China were arrested Friday as well.
«One after another, they were also taken, detained. Like, they were saying that there were people outside their doors, and then one at a time they were taken into custody,» Grace told Fox News Digital.
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In this photo taken Aug. 4, 2018, pastor Jin Minri leads a class on the basics of Christian beliefs at the Zion Church in Beijing, China. (Ng Han Guan/AP Photo)
Zion Church is one of several underground churches operating in China, meaning it is not registered with authorities, making it unlawful, according to the AP.
«The charges have been something like online dissemination of religious materials, but they have not given any paperwork out to anyone physically. But they’ve shown the detention slip, and that’s what it says on most people’s detention [slips],» she said.
Grace told Fox News Digital that China has implemented a sweeping crackdown on religious leaders in recent months. In May, Light of Zion Church Pastor Gao Quanfu of Xi’an was detained by authorities on charges of «using superstitious activities to undermine the implementation of justice.»
Additionally, in June, multiple church workers from the Golden Lampstand Church in Linfen were sentenced to prison time for «fraud» charges. Grace is concerned authorities could also file a fraud charge against her father because financial documents were taken from Zion Church.
Since 2018, Jin has been under surveillance and faced an exit ban, meaning he has been unable to reunite with his children, who are U.S. citizens. He has not seen them in more than six years.
This photograph provided by Pastor Sean Long of Zion Church shows police raiding the home of pastor Sun Cong of Zion Church in Beijing, China on Friday, Oct. 10, 2025. (Sean Long via AP)
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Grace told Fox News Digital the Chinese government shut down Zion Church in 2018 because of its influence because it would host up to 1,500 people each week.
«When it shut down in 2018, there was no longer anywhere like physical locations that would ever rent out such a big space for Zion,» Grace said. «In fact, if you were to rent out even a small space, they would immediately find out, and they would come and take down Zion.»
This put Zion Church in a difficult position, but it instead turned to the now-familiar hybrid model, holding live praise and worship sessions online while also distributing information so people could pray together in smaller groups.
«When COVID hit in 2020, Zion Church was one of the only churches with this online model,» Grace said. «Zion kind of blew up at this point. … Christians all across China were attending Zion’s services because it was the only church service for a while that was hosting things every Sunday online with music and sermons.»
She recalled that as other churches tried to adjust to the virtual world, her father offered his resources and methods to others. She said this helped her father connect not only with the other churches, but with congregants as well.
This photograph provided by Pastor Sean Long of Zion Church shows pastor Sun Cong of Zion Church standing, wearing handcuffs, after being detained by police at his home in Beijing, China, Friday, Oct. 10, 2025. (Sean Long via AP)
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Jin’s family is calling on the U.S. State Department to demand the Chinese Communist Party release him «immediately and unconditionally, allowing him to return to his family in the United States prior to further persecution at the hands of the Chinese government.»
Jin’s fate and the fates of the other church leaders arrested with him remain uncertain, but China Aid, a U.S.-based religious group, said that so-called «house churches,» such as Zion, are «facing unprecedented pressure.»
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«Xi Jinping has waged a war against God’s Church, such as the Zion Church, that he will never win. The level of persecution against religious freedom has reached the worst [level] in 40 years,» China Aid founder and President Bob Fu told Fox News Digital. «Faith is not a crime. Worship is not a crime. Prayer is not a crime.
«The courage of China’s urban pastors and believers will be remembered in history as a living testimony that the light of Christ cannot be extinguished by tyranny,» Fu added. He also called on President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to speak out and condemn the CCP’s crackdown.
china,religion,world,faith,christianity religion
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President Donald Trump lauded Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio as «extraordinary» statesmen who complement each other’s strengths as they take the MAGA platform to the world stage.
Trump’s newly formed Board of Peace — an international forum aimed at funding Gaza’s reconstruction and coordinating a postwar stabilization force — convened its inaugural meeting in Washington, D.C., Thursday with delegations from more than 40 countries participating. Trump lauded the pair as he addressed the massive body of foreign leaders and representatives.
The meeting comes just less than a week after Rubio flew to Germany and delivered a speech before the Munich Security Conference, which earned applause from conservatives at home as he railed against unchecked mass migration and how it is destabilizing Western civilization.
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Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, as well as their wives, attended the Olympics opening together earlier in 2026. (Kevin Lamarque / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)
Vance led the U.S.’ delegation to the Security Conference in 2025, and delivered a speech that was viewed as a defining moment for the newly inaugurated Trump White House and for Vance himself on the world stage. Vance warned in his 2025 speech that European governments and institutions are drifting toward censorship, citing policies he said police speech, curb religious expression and pressure online platforms.
Trump lauded both of the administration leaders in his remarks, explaining that while the pair approach diplomacy «very differently,» the «result is the same.»
The president first celebrated Vance, remarking that he is «brilliant» and an excellent student.
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«JD graduated in a four-and-a-half-year college in two years, and then he went to Yale, and he graduated at the top of his class, went to the military. Great. But when he went to Yale, there was one person that was marginally ahead of him. So he married her. Can you believe it? He married the person that was ahead,» Trump said, referring to second lady Usha Vance.
Usha Vance is pregnant with her fourth child. (Getty images)
Trump continued that Vance is «a brilliant guy and a great guy, and he’s been my friend,» before noting that he can be a «little bit tough on occasion.»
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«We gotta slow him down just a little bit on occasion,» Trump said. «He says his mind.»
As for Rubio, Trump called him «the opposite extreme» of Vance.
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«Now then we have the opposite extreme,» he said. «We have your friend sitting in the back. Your best friend. Sitting in the back is Marco. Marco does it with a velvet glove, but it’s a kill, right? The result is the same. They do it very differently,» he said.
Vance has previously called Rubio his «closest friend in the administration» or «best friend in the administration» in public remarks, including in October while on a podcast and again while speaking with Fox News earlier in February.
Trump went on to joke that Rubio did such an excellent job delivering his speech before the Munich conference he considered firing him.
«Marco, you really did yourself proud two days ago in Munich. In fact, so proud that I almost terminated his employ because they were saying, ‘Why can’t Trump do this?’ I do, but I say it differently. But Marco, don’t do any better than you did. please. Because if you do, you’re out of here.»
Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends a bilateral meeting with China’s Foreign Minister (not in picture) in Munich, Feb. 13, 2026, on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. ( Alex Brandon / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)
«I want my guys to do great. And the acclaim he’s gotten and they claim JD gets is, is great,» he continued.
The praise follows Rubio and Vance joining a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni earlier in February in Italy, and Vance leading a delegation that included Rubio during the Olympics’ opening ceremony in Milan.
Vance’s foreign policy profile became a point of media scrutiny earlier in 2026, when U.S. forces captured Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro. Vance did not join Trump at Mar-a-Lago in Florida to monitor the operation, while Rubio was with the president.
Vance’s office previously brushed off report over his absence, citing that Trump and Vance limit the «frequency and duration» of time they spend together outside the White House due to «increased security concerns.»
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«I think it’s so interesting the media wants to create this conflict where there just isn’t any conflict,» Vance told Fox News earlier in February of the media scrutiny.
«Marco’s doing a great job. I’m trying to do as good of a job as I can. The president’s doing a great job. We’re going to keep on working together,» he added.
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La administración tecnócrata de Gaza anunció el despliegue de 5.000 policías en 60 días para reemplazar a Hamas
REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
Alí Shaath, economista palestino y director de la Comisión Nacional para la Administración de Gaza (CNAG), anunció el jueves durante la reunión inaugural de la Junta de Paz en Washington el despliegue de una fuerza policial palestina de 5.000 agentes en un plazo de 60 días.
El anuncio se enmarca en la segunda fase del plan de 20 puntos del presidente Donald Trump para Gaza, que busca trasladar el control del enclave devastado desde el grupo terrorista Hamas hacia una estructura de gobernanza internacional supervisada directamente desde Washington.
Shaath, ex viceministro de la Autoridad Palestina, reconoció que la CNAG opera en condiciones extremadamente difíciles. Gran parte de la Franja resultó gravemente dañada tras dos años de guerra que dejaron al menos 70.000 palestinos muertos, según cifras de organismos palestinos confirmadas también por Israel.
La nueva fuerza policial responde a la primera de cuatro prioridades definidas por la comisión tecnócrata: restaurar la seguridad bajo una sola autoridad, una sola ley y una sola arma. Las otras tres áreas prioritarias incluyen reactivar la economía, garantizar ayuda humanitaria sostenible y restablecer servicios básicos como electricidad, agua, salud y educación.
El director de la Junta de Paz, el diplomático búlgaro Nikolai Mladenov, informó que unas 2.000 personas ya solicitaron unirse a esta fuerza de transición, que será entrenada en Egipto y operará bajo la autoridad civil de la CNAG. Mladenov estableció como condición esencial que todas las facciones armadas en Gaza sean desmanteladas y que las armas queden bajo control de una autoridad civil única. Para ello, afirmó, resulta imprescindible la implementación completa del plan de 20 puntos de Trump.
La Junta de Paz, presentada por Trump como una alternativa a Naciones Unidas, celebró su primera reunión con la participación de casi 50 países, superando los 27 miembros fundadores. Sin embargo, la ausencia de potencias europeas occidentales y el rechazo del Vaticano, México y varios países latinoamericanos evidencian las fisuras en el respaldo internacional al mecanismo impulsado por Estados Unidos.
La junta está dirigida por una estructura ejecutiva que incluye al secretario de Estado Marco Rubio, el yerno de Trump Jared Kushner, el exprimer ministro británico Tony Blair y el enviado especial Steve Witkoff, entre otros.
El plan de 20 puntos, presentado por Trump en septiembre de 2025 junto al primer ministro israelí Benjamín Netanyahu, establece un alto el fuego condicionado al desarme completo de Hamas, la liberación de rehenes israelíes y la creación de una zona libre de terrorismo en Gaza.
REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa/Fotografía de archivo
El documento contempla la formación de un gobierno de transición bajo supervisión internacional, un programa masivo de reconstrucción y, eventualmente, la posibilidad de avanzar hacia un Estado palestino, aunque Netanyahu ha rechazado categóricamente esta última perspectiva.
El principal obstáculo para la implementación del plan radica en el desarme de Hamas, que mantiene el control efectivo de Gaza desde 2007. Israel fijó un plazo de 60 días para que el grupo terrorista entregue todas sus armas, incluidas las ligeras como fusiles AK-47. El Departamento de Estado estadounidense reconoció que la desmilitarización constituye el desafío central del proceso.
Sin embargo, Khaled Meshaal, alto dirigente de Hamas, rechazó el desarme total y propuso únicamente un congelamiento de las armas, argumentando que desarmarse equivaldría a despojar al pueblo palestino de su alma.
La tensión se agrava por las continuas violaciones del alto el fuego. El ejército israelí mantiene el control de más del 50% del territorio gazatí y ha dejado claro que no renunciará al objetivo de desmilitarización total de la Franja. El ministerio de Salud de Gaza, operado por Hamas, reportó al menos 601 palestinos muertos por fuerzas israelíes desde el inicio de la tregua en octubre de 2025.
(AP Foto/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Mladenov advirtió que enviar al comité tecnócrata mientras persisten los enfrentamientos solo garantizará su inefectividad. El diplomático búlgaro anunció la creación de una Oficina del Alto Representante para Gaza, que él mismo encabezaría provisionalmente, con el objetivo de eliminar los obstáculos que enfrentará la CNAG al asumir el control civil y administrativo del enclave.
Trump anunció que Estados Unidos contribuirá con 10.000 millones de dólares para la reconstrucción de Gaza, mientras que nueve países árabes comprometieron otros 7.000 millones. Indonesia, Marruecos, Albania, Kosovo y Kazajistán ofrecieron tropas para la Fuerza Internacional de Estabilización prevista en el plan, aunque ningún gobierno ha formalizado compromisos definitivos sobre el número de efectivos ni el alcance de su mandato.
El modelo propuesto recuerda experiencias de administración internacional en Timor Oriental, Kosovo, Bosnia e Irak. Sin embargo, la ausencia de representación palestina en la junta ejecutiva internacional y la imposición vertical de estructuras de gobernanza han generado escepticismo sobre la viabilidad del proyecto. La historia demuestra que cuando el diseño es excesivamente vertical y la legitimidad local resulta limitada, la estabilidad suele ser precaria.
La CNAG, integrada por 15 tecnócratas palestinos, carece de función política y se limitará a la gestión logística y administrativa civil.
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Top US military commander visits Venezuela, meets new leader following operation to capture Maduro
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The head of the U.S. Southern Command traveled to Venezuela to meet with the country’s acting president just weeks after U.S. forces captured former leader Nicolás Maduro.
The trip on Wednesday, described as a surprise visit, was the first to Venezuela by a U.S. military delegation since the Jan. 3 raid to retrieve Maduro, according to Reuters.
«The commander of U.S. Southern Command, Marine Gen. Francis L. Donovan, Chargé d’Affaires to the Venezuela Affairs Unit, Ambassador Laura F. Dogu, and U.S. Acting Assistant Secretary of War for Homeland Defense and the Americas Joseph M. Humire met with Venezuelan interim authorities in Caracas,» U.S. Southern Command said in a statement.
«During the meeting, the leaders reiterated the United States’ commitment to a free, safe and prosperous Venezuela for the Venezuelan people, the United States, and the Western Hemisphere,» it added.
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Marine Gen. Francis L. Donovan, commander of U.S. Southern Command, engages with Marines assigned to stand watch at U.S. Embassy facilities in Caracas, Venezuela, on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026. (U.S. Southern Command/Venezuela Affairs Unit )
«Discussions focused on the security environment, steps to ensure the implementation of President Donald Trump’s three-phase plan – particularly the stabilization of Venezuela – and the importance of shared security across the Western Hemisphere,» U.S. Central Command also said.
The U.S. Embassy in Venezuela added in a post on X that it was a «historic day» in a push to «advance the objective of a Venezuela aligned with the United States.»
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Gen. Francis L. Donovan, Ambassador Laura F. Dogu, the chargé d’affaires to the Venezuela Affairs Unit, and Joseph M. Humire, acting assistant secretary of war for homeland defense and the Americas, pose for a photo in Venezuela, on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026. (U.S. Southern Command/Venezuela Affairs Unit )
Venezuela’s government said the U.S. delegation met with interim President Delcy Rodriguez, Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino and Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, with the two sides agreeing to coordinate on drug-trafficking, terrorism and migration, Reuters reported. The Associated Press also confirmed that Donovan, who is the head of American military operations in Latin America, met with Rodriguez.
Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodriguez, waves after bidding farewell to U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright following their meeting in Caracas, Venezuela, on Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (Ariana Cubillos/AP)
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«The meeting reaffirms that diplomacy should be the mechanism for resolving differences and addressing issues of bilateral and regional interests,» it also cited Venezuela’s Communications Minister Miguel Angel Perez as saying on X.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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