(Minghui.org) A Meizhou City, Guangdong Province resident was sentenced to two years with a 30,000-yuan fine in March 2025 for her faith in Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Ms. Yang Xuezhen, 59, was arrested on September 20, 2024, after being recorded by a street camera while distributing informational materials about Falun Gong. She was tried by a local court on January 22, 2025 and convicted two months later. It’s not clear whether she is still held at the Meizhou City Detention Center or has been transferred to prison.
This is the second time that Ms. Yang has been sentenced for practicing Falun Gong, which she credits for curing her many ailments, including breast hyperplasia, rheumatism, migraine, and lower back pain.
Ms. Yang was first arrested on August 21, 2002, after being reported for distributing Falun Gong materials the night before. She was beaten by officers at the Sanjiao Police Station during an interrogation. Her home was turned upside down during the subsequent raid. The police also arrested her husband and detained him for two days.
Ms. Yang was held at the Meizhou City Detention Center for a month before being transferred to the Meijiang District Lockup. She was forced to string beads for over ten hours a day. She also wasn’t given enough to eat and was often deprived of sleep.
In October 2002, the Meizhou City Forced Labor Committee gave Ms. Yang a one-year term at the Sanshui Women’s Forced Labor Camp. She was held there for several months and then taken to the Qinhuang Detention Center.
Ms. Yang was tried by the Meijiang District Court in March 2003 and sentenced to 3.5 years a month later. Judges Zhang Xiaohui, Chen Bingping and Zhang Jinmo signed her verdict. She was taken to the Guangdong Province Women’s Prison in May 2003, where she was again forced to work long hours without pay while being subjected to brainwashing and long hours of standing at night.