Trump saved one pastor from Xi. Now a dying man needs him to do it again

When President Donald Trump sat down face-to-face with Chinese President Xi Jinping in May, he proved that his personal intervention can yield real results for persecuted Christians. In that meeting, Trump called on the Chinese leader to release Pastor Ezra Jin, founder of Beijing’s Zion Church. Weeks later, over the Fourth of July, Jin was released from prison and allowed to return to his family on American soil — a victory for diplomacy and for human rights. I hope we see another victory this week.When Xi arrives in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 24 for their next summit, Trump has another opportunity to work the art of the deal, curry favor with Christians in his voting base, and help bring a dying man home to his family. All he has to do is secure the release of another persecuted Christian pastor, John Cao. IN WAR ON BIBLE, PASTOR CONVICTED FOR PREACHING GOSPELCao was serving students and needy people along the China-Myanmar border. He served a seven-year prison term on spurious charges of “illegal border crossing.” Though he completed his sentence, Beijing continues to hold Cao in a “prison without walls,” refusing to issue him a passport or grant permission for him to leave China. He is a lawful permanent resident of the United States, and his wife is American.This situation is made worse because Cao is suffering from late-stage cancer. Barring a miracle, he is unlikely to live much longer. If Trump were to ask specifically for Cao’s release, as he did for Jin, Xi and China might once again heed his request, allowing Cao to return home to his wife and family to live out the remainder of his days.Political pressure and personal diplomacy can be powerful levers during bilateral summits. Just as President Ronald Reagan pressed Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev on religious freedom in 1988 while also negotiating for nuclear arms control, Trump can call for Cao’s release while also pursuing America’s broader economic goals.The reality of daily life for 130 million Chinese Christians has become more difficult under Xi. Before Xi’s regime, Chinese provinces policed religious activity and persecuted Christians differently — and the intensity of persecution varied widely. As president, Xi has forced his oppressive policies across the entire nation.To aid in their oppressive control, the Chinese Communist Party has created a massive surveillance state, using technology and deploying hundreds of millions of facial recognition cameras to track citizens’ movements, routines, transactions, online conversations, and personal interactions. The state has banned online Bible sales, and it is illegal for anyone under 18 to attend Christian worship services. Church leaders are routinely detained during church raids. Unregistered church leaders are cleverly criminalized under charges unrelated to religion — like “fraud” and “illegal business practices” — simply for preaching the gospel and leading a church.Cao is just one of about 200 church leaders who remain imprisoned in China. And those are only the cases known publicly. Securing Jin’s freedom on Independence Day showed what is possible when an American president stands up for persecuted Christians. For millions of Christian voters in the U.S. who care and pray for these faithful front-line gospel workers, seeing our president advocate for them is deeply meaningful.JAMES TALARICO SAID HE ‘HATES CHRISTIANITY.’ HERE’S WHYMr. President, as you meet with Xi next week, please place Pastor John Cao’s name — and those of 199 other imprisoned Chinese church leaders — at the top of your agenda.Request this dying pastor’s release on humanitarian grounds; help bring him home to his family. You succeeded in May, and you can do it again.Todd Nettleton is vice president for message at The Voice of the Martyrs and for more than 25 years has traveled the world interviewing persecuted Christians for The Voice of the Martyrs Radio.