(Minghui.org) Minghui.org previously reported that eleven residents of Hengyang City, Hunan Province, were sentenced to prison on December 31, 2025, for practicing Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.
Ms. Hu Xiaoyun
Among them was Ms. Hu Xiaoyun, 61, who was given seven years and a 30,000-yuan fine. Her appeal was turned down by the Hengyang City Intermediate Court in April 2026.
This report presents new information about the persecution that Ms. Hu, a retired Hengyang Shoe Factory employee, has suffered in the past.
Earlier Prison Sentence and Harassment
Ms. Hu boarded a train to Shenzhen City, Guangdong Province, on September 27, 2017, to visit her husband and son who worked there. She was reported by a passenger, Liang, for giving him a copy of the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party. As soon as the train arrived at its destination, the police seized Ms. Hu and took her to the Guangzhou City Railway Detention Center
Ms. Hu appeared in the Guangzhou City Railway Transportation Court on March 26, 2018, and was sentenced to one year in prison on May 3 that year. She was soon admitted to the Guangdong Province Women’s Prison.
When Ms. Hu was released in late September 2018, the Shigu District Political and Legal Affairs Committee (PLAC) in Hengyang City ordered Li Shupinig, a staff member from the local residential committee, and Chen Yanghua, a community police officer, to harass her.
In April 2022, the Shigu District PLAC directed Liu Zhisheng, the director of the Shigu District Organization Department; Guo Wei, director of the Hejiang Subdistrict Office; Jiang Shuangping, director of the Hejiang Subdistrict Finance Office; Zhou Rui, secretary of the Baishuzui Community; and Chen Yanhua, the community police officer, to form a “brainwashing committee” aimed to force Ms. Hu to renounce Falun Gong.
Recap of Most Recent Arrest and Prison Sentence
Ms. Hu was arrested on March 31, 2024, after the police saw her distributing Falun Gong materials with other practitioners whom they were monitoring via surveillance cameras. Her home was ransacked and her Falun Gong books, laptop, and memory cards were confiscated. She was held at the Hengyang City Women’s Detention Center overnight. She refused to sign the criminal detention notice that was issued the next day.
The Zhengxiang District Procuratorate issued a formal arrest warrant for Ms. Hu on May 7, 2024. On July 6, one day after the police submitted her case, prosecutor Cheng Yihui and his assistant Zhang Wei interrogated Ms. Hu and attempted to force her to plead guilty. She refused to comply.
The prosecutor returned Ms. Hu’s case to the police on August 5, citing insufficient evidence. The police re-submitted her case on September 5. The prosecutor indicted her on September 30. The prosecution evidence included several points: 1) Ms. Hu was caught reading Zhuan Falun (the main book of Falun Gong) with another practitioner, Ms. Wang Yuanxiu; 2) they distributed 33 copies of Zhengjian.org (a periodical) near a middle school on March 17-18, 2024; 3) they both had Falun Gong materials at home; and 4) Ms. Hu had been previously sentenced to one year for practicing Falun Gong and was thus deemed a “repeat offender.”
Ms. Hu and ten other Falun Gong practitioners appeared in the Zhengxiang District Court on April 15, 2025. Only two family members of each practitioner were allowed to attend the trial. Other seats were occupied by dozens of agents from the local Political and Legal Affairs Committee and street committee workers. The practitioners were led into the courtroom in handcuffs and shackles. The presiding judge ordered the handcuffs and shackles removed upon the defense lawyers’ request.
Ms. Hu’s family noted that she was very weak after being on a hunger strike to protest the persecution. She had also accidentally hit her head and sustained injuries.
The judge sentenced the practitioners to 2-8 years on December 31, 2025.
Related Reports:
Hengyang City, Hunan Province: 11 Sentenced to 2-8 Years for Practicing Falun Gong
Hengyang City, Hunan Province: 11 Stand Trial for Practicing Falun Gong
Practitioner Mr. Zhou Zixian Imprisoned and Severely Abused for Six Years
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