Falun Gong Repression Intensifies: Practitioner Yao Jiaxiu Sentenced to Five Years
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In the first half of 2025 alone, at least 430 Falun Gong practitioners were sentenced across China. Their jail terms are getting longer compared to previous years.
By Yang Feng
August 20, 2025
58-year-old Yao Jiaxiu, a longtime practitioner from Panzhihua City, Sichuan Province, was sentenced on August 1, 2025, to five years in prison and fined 20,000 yuan by the Xichang City People’s Court. Her sentence will run until September 20, 2029.
Yao’s case is emblematic of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) relentless persecution of Falun Gong adherents. Born in December 1967, Yao has endured over two decades of state-sponsored brutality for her spiritual beliefs. She was previously sentenced to three years in 2001 and nine years in 2006, suffering prolonged torture during her incarceration.
Upon her release, she recounted the harrowing ordeal where the guards had coerced a fellow inmate to torment her. This inmate, a common criminal named Tian, inflicted pain by stabbing her hands and feet with a needle, striking her chest, and dousing her with water.
In the early days of December 2008, guard Zhu Yan commanded other inmates to strip Yao of her clothes and inscribe the prison uniform mark upon her body. One inmate, Sun Ju, held her in a chokehold, releasing only when she was on the brink of unconsciousness. Zhu then ordered the inmates to shear her hair, and once more, Sun nearly suffocated her with a chokehold. Zhu kept her handcuffed for an entire afternoon.
In June 2009, guards Yu Aiping and Shuang Kangying dragged Yao to their office, tearing away the bed sheets she had used to cover herself after her clothes were confiscated. Guard Wen Xiujun then had paint brought in to mark the word “criminal” on her bra and underwear. Wen took photographs of her and threatened to post them online. Division head Yue Hong instructed Zhu to handcuff Yao to a bed frame for an entire day.
After her release, she faced constant surveillance and harassment, forcing her into hiding. Her recent arrest on September 21, 2024, in Luzhou City marked the beginning of yet another ordeal.
Questionable legal practices marred Yao’s trial. Prosecutors cited coerced confessions from her son, who was detained under harsh conditions in 2019. Yao argued that her peaceful practice of Falun Gong was protected under China’s constitution and that no law officially criminalizes the movement. Nonetheless, she was labeled a “repeat offender” and convicted under Article 300 of the Criminal Law, which targets those active in a xie jiao, or “group spreading heterodox teachings” (sometimes less correctly translated as “evil cult”).
Yao’s sentencing is not an isolated incident. In the first half of 2025 alone, at least 430 Falun Gong practitioners were sentenced across China, according to data compiled by the movement. These sentences often exceed the national average for similar charges, with many practitioners receiving terms of three years or more—some up to ten years.
Provinces such as Jilin, Shandong, and Liaoning have reported dozens of cases, and specialized courts have been designated to expedite convictions. The CCP’s tactics include surveillance, arbitrary detention, forced confessions, and torture. Even after release, practitioners face ongoing harassment, house raids, and social ostracism.
Despite mounting evidence, the international response remains limited. The CCP’s strict censorship and control over legal proceedings make intervening difficult for families and human rights organizations. Meanwhile, inside China, fear and silence prevail. Practitioners like Yao Jiaxiu continue to risk everything for their beliefs, facing a system designed to crush dissent.
As the world watches, the question grows louder: How many more lives must be shattered before the persecution of Falun Gong is confronted on the global stage?
Source: bitterwinter.org
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