(Minghui.org)
Name: Ma LingChinese Name: 马玲Gender: FemaleAge: 69City: KunmingProvince: YunnanOccupation: retired university librarianDate of Death: October 2, 2026Date of Most Recent Arrest: December 23, 2025Most Recent Place of Detention: Yunnan Province Second Women’s Prison
Ms. Ma Ling before her imprisonment
Ms. Ma Ling when she was released in July 2026
A 69-year-old cancer-stricken woman serving a three-year term for her faith in Falun Gong was finally released on parole in July 2026, only to die on October 2, 2026.
The passing of Ms. Ma Ling, a retired university librarian in Kunming City, Yunnan Province, capped her decades of persecution for her faith. She previously served two labor camp terms and a prior prison term totaling 9.5 years. Her pension was suspended in 2014 and never reinstated.
Ms. Ma’s latest prison sentence stemmed from her arrest on June 6, 2024. She was found to have a cancerous tumor on April 17, 2025, and was released on bail weeks later on May 1, the day when she was sentenced to three years with a 10,000-yuan fine. Her appeal was rejected on October 11, 2025.
Ms. Ma’ health never recovered, yet she was taken back into custody on December 23, 2025, and admitted to the Yunnan Province Second Women’s Prison two days later.
During the physical exam, she was found to have more than ten diseases, including cancer in the pelvic area, ovarian cysts, moderate anemia, high blood pressure, vaginal bleeding, fatty liver, chronic cholecystitis with gallbladder stones, stones in her left kidney, brain atrophy, aortic calcification, and atherosclerotic renal artery stenosis. She was transferred to the Yunnan Provincial Prison Administration Central Hospital the day after her prison admission and was issued a critical condition notice.
Ms. Ma was later issued two more critical condition notices, on May 9 and June 19, 2026, respectively. Her family made numerous requests to have her released on parole since her prison admission, yet they were rejected repeatedly. It wasn’t until July 2026 that the parole request was finally approved.
The Xishan District Court, which sentenced Ms. Ma to three years in May 2025, issued a one-year freeze of her bank account in September 2026, without notifying her. Her family didn’t find out about the freeze until they were unable to withdraw the monthly 2,000 yuan living stipends her former employer deposited into the account.
Her bank said the frozen amount was 60,000 yuan and they couldn’t unfreeze it without a court order.
Having had her pension suspended since 2014, Ms. Ma relied on the living stipends to get by. The latest financial persecution was another blow to her. She died at 12:10 a.m. on October 2, 2026.
See the related reports for details of Ms. Ma’s repeated persecution for her faith.
Related Reports:
Kunming, Yunnan Province: 13 Convicted for Their Faith, 9 Appealed But Lost
Arrested in a Police Sweep, Four More Yunnan Residents Sentenced to Prison for Practicing Falun Gong
Nine Yunnan Residents Sentenced to Prison for Practicing Falun Gong
Former Librarian’s Pension Withheld for Her Faith, Appeal Accepted by Intermediate Court
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