(Minghui.org) A 62-year-old woman in Songming County, Yunnan Province received a verdict on September 29, 2025 stating that she was sentenced to two years and fined 5,000 yuan for her faith in Falun Gong.
Ms. Xu Chunfeng’s prison sentence was triggered by her use of banknotes printed with Falun Gong messages to purchase goods at a farmer's market on March 28, 2024. She was arrested at home at midnight on April 25, 2024. Officers from the Chenggong District Police Department in Kunming City (which oversees Songming County) confiscated her Falun Gong books, music players, flash drives, and video players. Her daughter and son-in-law, who share the same residence with her and do not practice Falun Gong, were also arrested.
The three family members were taken to the Yanglin Police Station for interrogation. Ms. Yang’s daughter and son-in-law were released hours later. She was brought to the Chenggong District Police Department by officers Ma Linwen (+86-13518755780) and Wang Dong (+86-13678786262).
Starting at 8 a.m. on April 26, 2024, the police interrogated Ms. Xu for about five hours. They forced her to sign interrogation records. After that, she was taken to the Xinhua Hospital for a physical exam. By the time she was driven to the Kunming City Detention Center, it was already past 10 p.m. As her physical exam indicated she was unfit for detention, she was denied admission.
Officer Wang brought Ms. Xu back to the Xinhua Hospital for a re-examination. The results were the same and the detention center declined to admit her again. Wang requested a third physical exam of Ms. Xu. As it was 2 a.m. on April 27, 2024, he took her back to the police department.
After day broke, officer Ma drove Ms. Xu to a different hospital for a third physical exam. The doctors there recommended immediate hospitalization. Ma, however, asked the doctors to give Ms. Xu injections and pills so that he could get her admitted to the detention center. The doctors warned him that Ms. Xu was experiencing severe diabetes and in serious condition.
Ma ignored the doctors and drove Ms. Xu to the detention center, which still refused to admit her. Ma had no choice but to take her back to the police department. He consulted his supervisors and released Ms. Xu on bail. Her daughter was summoned to the police department to pay the 2,000 yuan bail bond and sign the paperwork as her guarantor.
During her three days of detention (April 25-27, 2024), the police did not given Ms. Xu any food. After she was released, the judicial bureau workers and the local police kept harassing her at home.
Officer Ma called Ms. Xu’s daughter on July 16, 2024 and ordered her to notify her mother to report to them or they’d take her back into custody. Ms. Xu went and was given a notice saying she had been indicted by prosecutor Ye Heng of the Yiliang County Procuratorate. Her case was forwarded to the Yiliang County Court the next day.
Ms. Xu stood trial on September 23, 2025. Huang Caikuan, a court-appointed lawyer, represented her. No spectators were allowed at the hearing. The presiding judge asked if Ms. Xu admitted her “guilt,” and she replied that she broke no law in exercising her constitutional right to freedom of belief. The judge instructed the bailiff to remove Ms. Xu’s microphone to stop her from talking. He then banged the gavel to end the hearing, which lasted less than 20 minutes.
Ms. Xu received a copy of her guilty verdict in the mail on September 29, 2025. It is unclear when she will be taken into custody to start serving time.
This is not the first time that Ms. Xu has been sentenced for her faith. She was given three years and fined 10,000 yuan following a previous arrest in November 2016. While serving time at the Yunnan Province Second Women’s Prison, she was forced to take unknown drugs three times a day (each time 10 to over 30 pills) for almost two years. She became weak and sore after taking the pills; she also suffered from memory loss and severe diarrhea. After she was released, she still faced constant harassment by the police.
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