After Health Declines Due to Persecution of Her Faith, Beijing Woman Dies at 73

(Minghui.org)

Name: Yan YuyingChinese Name: 严玉英Gender: FemaleAge: 73City:Province: BeijingOccupation: N/ADate of Death: April 26, 2025Date of Most Recent Arrest: July 2005Most Recent Place of Detention: Changping Brainwashing Center

A Changping District, Beijing resident died on April 26, 2025, after enduring over two decades of persecution for her faith in Falun Gong. She was 73 years old.

Before Ms. Yan Yuying took up Falun Gong in 1996, she suffered severe stomach disease and a gynecological condition. As a widow with two young children, she couldn’t afford to seek medical treatment. Her conditions, however, disappeared soon after she began practicing Falun Gong. She once said to her neighbor that practicing Falun Gong saved her life and enabled her to experience true happiness.

After the Chinese Communist Party began to persecute Falun Gong in 1999, Ms. Yan was twice arrested, and subjected to frequent harassment.

She was first arrested in 2001 for going to Tiananmen Square to appeal for the right to practice Falun Gong. She was held at the Beijing Detention Center for 28 days.

Ms. Yan was arrested again in July 2005 and held at the Changping District Brainwashing Center for nearly a month. The guards forced her to run barefooted on the playground from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. in the heat of the summer. They also instigated the inmates to stuff her mouth with rags used to clean the restroom, pour water over her lower body, and force her to sleep next to the restroom.

The village security officials harassed Ms. Yan on July 29, 2017, and ordered her to write a statement renouncing Falun Gong. She refused to comply.

The persecution over the years took a toll on Ms. Yan’s health. She began to suffer unstable blood pressure, with her systolic pressure sometimes being over 200 mmHg (normal level is 120 mmHg or lower). She eventually died on April 26, 2025.