The daughter of an imprisoned Chinese Christian pastor released a tearful video on Christmas Eve, publicly reading a letter to her father as Chinese authorities have cut off direct family communication. 

Grace Jin Drexel read the letter detailing the harrowing experience of her father, Mingri “Ezra” Jin, a prominent underground church leader who has been locked up since October. Jin has been imprisoned in a crowded room that is exposed to the elements and has not been given clean clothes or medication, Grace said. 

“We hear that the room that you are held is crowded with over 30 people, all people you don’t know. The windows have no glass panels, so the wind and rain flow in, making the room even harsher in this season. Grandma has tried to bring you extra clothes, blanket, and your own medication, but the guards turned her away,” Grace said in the video which was shared by multiple human rights organizations. 

Jin, a pastor at Zion Church, was rounded up alongside 22 other church leaders and locked in a detention center in Guangxi, a region in southern China. Grace said that he was eating dinner when his apartment was stormed by nearly two dozen policemen before being handcuffed, head shaved, and taken away. 

“We are all trying to put on a brave face for each other,” Grace said. “
We probably all look sadder, more worried, and older now.”

Jin has been able to get a Bible while locked up, something that is unusual for imprisoned Christians. 

“Miraculously, we recently heard that they actually gave you a Bible. We praise God for this mercy. We are so thankful that while you are not able to celebrate Christmas with us, and probably won’t be able to celebrate at all, the Bible will be able to be a comfort to you,” Grace said. 

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Jin first became a Christian after the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre. After his conversion, Jin initially pastored one of the government-sanctioned churches approved by China, but he soon left after feeling his ministry was being stifled by the Chinese government, which demanded he promote communism. 

Grace said she hoped that those imprisoning her father would turn to Christianity.  

“I also pray that His love will be felt even by those who are persecuting you. May they feel love and forgiveness And may they turn to the Lord as well. 
We miss you. We love you. And we hope that we will see you free in the U.S. so soon.”

The video captured the attention of Sam Brownback, the former Kansas governor and religious liberty ambassador for President Donald Trump during his first term. 

“Heartbreaking video of Pastor Jin’s daughter reading a letter to her father who is wrongly imprisoned in China this Christmas. His crime? Being a man of faith. He has been in jail since October. Pray for him and his family,” Brownback, who has been banned from China, posted on X. 

The arrest of Jin was condemned by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has called for him to be immediately released.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation released an alert on Dec. 19 warning that phony text messages and AI are being used to scam people in the orbits of high-level government officials in the United States.

“Since at least 2023, malicious actors have sent text messages and AI-generated voice messages — techniques known as smishing and vishing, respectively — that claim to come from a senior U.S. official to establish rapport with targeted individuals,” The FBI wrote in an announcement.

The bureau released a similar Public Service Announcement in May. It’s becoming increasingly common over the past two years for people to be duped by fake officials, including those from the Cabinet, Congress, and even the White House, according to the alert.

“Malicious actors are impersonating senior U.S. officials via text and AI-generated voice messages and targeting their contacts, including family members,” the FBI wrote in a recent tweet on the issue. The alert noted that they will typically want to talk about policy or the news before getting them to another platform to continue the scam.

“In this scheme, actors reach out to victims and engage them in a brief conversation on a topic they are knowledgeable about. They quickly request to move the discussion to a secondary, encrypted messaging app,” the agency added.

When the “malicious actor” is able to move the conversation to an encrypted messaging software, like Signal or Telegram, they then might be asked to give away sensitive information like a passport, a code that would allow access to the “victim’s contact list,” and even “wire funds to an overseas financial institution under false pretenses.” As for the contact list request, it allows scammers to target others within that individual’s circle.

However, the FBI recommended that people take extra steps to verify whether or not a message is legitimate, like cross-checking phone numbers and other ways the person contacted.

The bureau acknowledged that the recent developments in AI have added an extra roadblock for people to identify these scams.

“AI-generated content has advanced to the point that it is often difficult to identify. When in doubt about the authenticity of someone wishing to communicate with you, contact your relevant security officials or the FBI for help,” the announcement stated.

Different types of AI scams have been increasing, CBS News reported in October, as the technology rapidly develops.