Blind Woman, Around 57, Likely Taken Back Into Custody to Start Serving a 7-Year Prison Term Given in 2023 for Her Faith
(Minghui.org) Ms. Yang Xiaoming’s friend was unable to get in touch with her in late March 2026, so he went to her home for a welfare check. He noted that the outer anti-theft metal door was locked and saw through the slots on the door that the inner wooden door was wide open. A chair was lying on the floor, and various items were scattered haphazardly across the table.
No one answered the door, and the friend suspects that Ms. Yang, who lived alone, was likely taken back into custody to serve a seven-year prison term given in 2023, for her faith in Falun Gong.
Ms. Yang Xiaoming
Ms. Yang, born in 1969, credits Falun Gong for curing her eye diseases. After the Chinese Communist Party launched the persecution of Falun Gong in July 1999, she held firm to her faith and was repeatedly targeted. Her then employer, the Kunming Medical College, forced her husband to take her for an abortion. He divorced her months later. She was given two forced labor camp terms between 2001 and 2008 for a total of five years. Her eyes were injured from beatings sustained in custody, and she went completely blind in 2012.
Ms. Yang’s latest seven-year prison sentence stemmed from her arrest on May 28, 2022. She was released on bail three days later and taken to the Xishan District Procuratorate for deposition on November 16, 2022. She received her indictment in early December 2022. The police pried open her door on February 1, 2023, and took her to the Xishan District Court for a trial. Judge Zhu Dandan sentenced her to seven years with a 20,000-yuan fine on March 14, 2023.
Judge Zhu from the Xishan District Court and judge Yang Le from the Kunming City Intermediate Court showed up at Ms. Yang’s home on June 1, 2023. They questioned her if she had anything to say about her conviction. She expressed that she broke no law in practicing Falun Gong and demanded the return of all her confiscated personal belongings. She also demanded that the guilty verdict be overturned.
Judge Yang replied that the intermediate court planned to uphold the original verdict. He then asked if Ms. Yang had any savings or income, as she needed to pay the 20,000 yuan court fine. She said that the Kunming Medical College had long fired her in 2005 and that she had no source of income. Even if she had savings, she would not pay any fine as she was not guilty at all.
Zhu and Yang left without saying when Ms. Yang must report to prison to start serving time. Two officers from the Zongshuying Police Station, including Luo Xiudong, came in the second half of 2024 and threatened to put her in jail. They left without taking her back into custody.
Ms. Yang’s friend couldn’t get hold of her in late March 2026. A visit to her home showed things in disarray as described earlier in the report. He suspects that she might have been taken back into custody to start serving her seven-year prison term.
Related Reports:
Blinded from Torture, Yunnan Woman Sentenced to Seven Years for Her Faith
After Two Labor Camp Terms and Forced Abortion, Blind Woman Tried for Her Faith in Falun Gong