Formerly imprisoned Chinese pastor and missionary John Cao is facing a new crisis after serving a seven-year sentence in China: advocates say he has stage four prostate cancer and is still waiting for passport processing that would allow him to join his wife and children in the United States.
Cao, 67, was detained by Chinese authorities in 2017 and sentenced the following year to seven years in prison for “organizing illegal border crossings” while conducting humanitarian missions along the China-Myanmar border, according to the supplied source.
He was released from prison in 2024. Advocates say he was diagnosed in April 2026 with stage four prostate cancer and has been trying to return to his family in the U.S. with increased urgency.
Advocates seek presidential intervention
U.S. advocacy groups are gathering 100,000 signatures before Sept. 24, 2026, in a petition asking President Trump to raise Cao’s condition with Chinese President Xi Jinping during an upcoming White House meeting, according to the source.
Bob Fu, founder and president of the Texas-based nonprofit ChinaAid, is among those pushing for Cao’s rapid reunification with his family.
“This is no longer simply a religious freedom or human rights case — it is an urgent humanitarian appeal,” Fu said in a campaign for Cao. “Pastor Cao has already served every day of his seven-year sentence. With advanced cancer threatening his life, we respectfully urge President Trump to personally ask President Xi to return Pastor Cao’s passport and let him come home to his family.”
Supporters point to another pastor’s release
The appeal comes after another Chinese pastor, Ezra Jin, was released from prison and reunited with his family in the U.S. on July 4, 2026, following a conversation between Trump and Xi in Beijing during the China Summit, according to the source.
The American Center for Law and Justice is also advocating for Cao. CeCe Heil, ACLJ senior counsel and international legal director, argued that issuing Cao’s passport would be a humanitarian measure rather than a political concession.
“Issuing Pastor Cao’s passport would not be a political concession. It would be a humanitarian act consistent with China’s laws and with President Xi’s recent gesture of goodwill,” Heil wrote. “Therefore, we respectfully ask the Chinese authorities to issue Pastor Cao’s passport immediately, in accordance with Article 14, and in recognition of the humanitarian situation.”
Heil also wrote that such a decision would show that “humanitarian considerations still matter in international relations” and that “mercy is possible even in difficult diplomatic climates.”
A call for united pressure
Heil called on “U.S. officials, human rights organizations, and faith communities” to support Cao’s “immediate humanitarian release,” adding, “This is a moment for governments, advocates, and communities to speak with one voice.”
