Pastor John Cao, a Chinese Christian leader who completed a seven-year prison sentence in 2024, has been diagnosed with late-stage prostate cancer and a spinal tumor, according to reports from Christian advocacy organizations. His diagnosis has renewed concerns about his continued inability to leave China and reunite with his family in the United States. 

Cao was arrested in March 2017 while traveling near the China-Burma border. He was later sentenced to seven years in prison for allegedly organizing illegal border crossings. Cao had been involved in humanitarian work in Burma, where he helped establish schools and aid impoverished communities. The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention later found that his detention violated his rights, including protections against discrimination based on religion. 

Cao completed his sentence and was released in March 2024. However, he has remained in China because he has been unable to obtain a passport that would allow him to return to the United States, where he has held lawful permanent residency for decades. 

In April 2026, Cao applied for a passport on humanitarian grounds. Around the same time, he was hospitalized with severe pain and diagnosed with late-stage prostate cancer and a spinal tumor, with reports indicating that the cancer had spread to his bone marrow. His wife and children subsequently traveled to China to visit him after years of separation. 

Cao’s case comes shortly after another prominent Chinese pastor was unexpectedly released. 

Pastor Ezra Jin Released 

In July, Pastor Ezra Jin Mingri, the founder of Beijing’s Zion Church, was released after approximately nine months in detention and subsequently traveled to the United States. Jin had been facing criminal charges connected to his leadership of the unregistered church. 

Jin’s release followed President Donald Trump’s raising of the case with Chinese President Xi Jinping during Trump’s May visit to China. Chinese authorities dropped the charges and allowed Jin to leave the country. 

The release was notable because Zion Church had been a target of Chinese authorities for years. The church refused to register with the government and became one of China’s largest independent Protestant congregations. Authorities closed its physical location in 2018, and in October 2025 detained Jin and other church leaders in a broader crackdown. 

Jin’s release has also drawn attention to other Christians who remain imprisoned or under government restrictions, including Cao. 

Religious Restrictions in China 

China officially recognizes several religious traditions, but religious activity remains subject to extensive government regulation. Churches and religious leaders that operate outside the state-controlled system can face surveillance, detention, closure, and criminal prosecution. 

The Chinese Communist Party’s policy of “Sinicization of religion” requires religious groups to align their activities with government-defined political and cultural priorities. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has described the policy as part of a broader effort to increase state control over religious communities. It has recommended that China continue to be designated a Country of Particular Concern for severe violations of religious freedom. 

Protestant house churches have been particularly affected. Authorities have targeted congregations and pastors who refuse to register with the government, including Zion Church and Early Rain Covenant Church. Chinese authorities have also imposed restrictions on religious teaching, online religious activity, and the distribution of religious materials. 

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