Ms. Li Lanying was from Tongnan County, Chongqing City. She was sentenced to one year of "re-education through forced labor" for going to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong. After ten months of grueling labor, mental pressure, and physical torture, she was released from Chongqing City's Maojiashang Women's Labor Camp after being diagnosed with breast cancer.

After returning home, Ms. Li kept doing the Falun Gong exercises and clarifying the truth about Falun Gong to other people. She was later arrested again. After being forcefully taken to a police car, her hands and wrist were so severely injured that she could not move them. The police asked a medical expert from a local hospital to conduct a physical examination on her, and she was released one day later. The doctor said that it was a miracle that her breast cancer wounds had healed in such a smooth way without hospital treatment.

However, because of the injuries and strain incurred during her arrest and the freezing conditions she was subjected to during her detention, Ms. Li's wounds opened up again. She passed away soon after.