A Chinese human rights lawyer who defended a persecuted church has escaped to Taiwan with her children, and Taipei has agreed to shelter the family for now — a small win for her, and another sign of Beijing's tightening grip on religious groups and their defenders.

• Wang Xiahong, part of the legal team for Beijing's Zion Church, fled to Taiwan after being told to shut down her law firm or have it closed by force.
• Taiwan is letting the family stay three months on humanitarian grounds while they arrange asylum elsewhere, likely the US or Canada.
• The case traces back to last October's arrest of 18 Zion Church members, one of China's biggest crackdowns on a single church in decades.
• American church groups are vouching for her and helping push the case, and Trump raised the church's founder with Xi Jinping before his release two months ago.
• Officials stress she came through proper channels and has not asked Taiwan itself for political asylum.

Outlook: Taiwan will likely extend help as needed while she seeks resettlement in a third country, keeping the case a quiet irritant in Beijing-Taipei relations.