U.S. Pastor Freed From Chinese Prison After 18 Years

American pastor David Lin , 68, has been released from a Chinese prison after serving nearly 20 years of his life sentence. Lin, a naturalized U.S. citizen, was convicted of contract fraud in 2006 after he helped an underground church establish a meeting center in Beijing. The U.S. State Department has consistently maintained that the charges against Lin were unfounded.

Lin returned to his birth country in 2006 with the intention of opening a Christian church building, having received permission from the Chinese government. However, he was detained shortly after his arrival and subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment . His sentence was reduced several times since 2012, with his most recent release date set for December 2029, according to the U.S.-based human rights advocacy group, the Dui Hua Foundation.

The State Department welcomed Lin's release, stating, "He has returned to the United States and now gets to see his family for the first time in nearly 20 years."

His daughter, Alice Lin , expressed her joy at her father's release, telling the BBC , "No words can express the joy we have - we have a lot of time to make up for."

Lin's release comes ahead of a U.S. congressional hearing on other Americans considered "wrongfully detained" in China. Among them are businessmen Kai Li and Mark Swidan , both of whom are reportedly suffering from serious health issues.