(Minghui.org) A 73-year-old resident of Yakeshi City, Inner Mongolia has been detained for four months and counting for her faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.

Ms. Wang Yuxiang was arrested at home on August 5, 2024 and is currently held at the Hailar District Women’s Detention Center in Hulunbuir City, which oversees Yakeshi City.

Ms. Wang, who worked as a kindergarten teacher in her younger years, developed esophageal diverticulum (a pocket or indentation on the inside of the esophagus) in 1990 and nothing helped much. She took up Falun Gong in 1998 and experienced significant improvement in her symptoms. She was able to eat and enjoy food again.

After the persecution began on July 20, 1999, Ms. Wang was terrified and stopped practicing Falun Gong. In 2001, she was hospitalized for kidney stones and hydronephrosis (one or both kidneys become stretched and swollen as the result of a build-up of urine inside them). In 2006, she needed inpatient care again, this time for colon diseases. She had blood in her stool and her doctor warned that she might need bowel surgery down the road. After she was discharged, her condition fluctuated from time to time. She further developed coronary heart disease, rheumatism, and other diseases. She felt drowsy and fatigued all day long.

Disease-ridden, Ms. Wang turned to Falun Gong again and recovered from all her symptoms in two years. She has since never needed to seek medical care again. She also became a more tolerant and considerate person. When her neighbor, with whom her family once had a fall out due to some conflicts, was diagnosed with cancer, she visited him to try to help. When his daughter got married, she sent in gifts. She credited Falun Gong for giving her a big heart to treat her neighbor nicely.