Person profile: Yao Jiaxiu / 姚佳秀
This page collects the published reporting on the case of Yao Jiaxiu (姚佳秀), a Falun Gong practitioner from Panzhihua, Sichuan, with source attributions and the limits of what is known. All case details are reported as attributed to their sources.
Identity note: The Chinese form 姚佳秀 is verified against the Rights Defense Network’s Issue 131 Chinese edition, which lists her in the “sentenced to 5 years” group and in the A–Z prisoner index. She is distinct from 姚淑霞 (Yao Shuxia), who appears in the 6-year-3-month group.
Case chronology
- October 1995 — Takes up Falun Gong, per Minghui.
- 2001 / 2006 — Sentenced to three years (Renhe District Court, Panzhihua, June 2001) and nine years (Dong District Court, Panzhihua, June 2006). (Minghui, May 2025)
- February 23, 2014 — Released; later forced into displacement. (Minghui, May 2025; WOIPFG)
- August 8, 2019 — Failed arrest in Xichang; her two sons detained; Yao goes into hiding and is placed on a wanted list. (Minghui, May 2025)
- September 20/21, 2024 — Seized from her rental home by Luzhou’s Jiangyang District police; transferred to the Xichang City Detention Center. (Minghui / WOIPFG — one-day variance)
- December 16, 2024 — Case submitted to the Xichang City Procuratorate. (Minghui; WOIPFG)
- April 29, 2025 — Trial at the Xichang City Court. (Minghui, May 2025)
- August 1, 2025 — Sentenced to five years and fined 20,000 yuan. (Minghui; Bitter Winter; WOIPFG)
- August 25, 2025 — Liangshan Prefecture Intermediate Court upholds the verdict without a hearing. (Minghui, September 2025; WOIPFG)
- September 22, 2025 — Admitted to the 4th Division of the Chengdu Women’s Prison. (Minghui, December 2025)
- December 4, 2025 — Family visit; reported health decline. (Minghui, December 2025)
- August 31, 2026 — Listed in the Rights Defense Network’s monthly in-custody report, “sentenced to 5 years” group. (维权网, Issue 131)
Media and documentary record
- Minghui.org — “Twice Sentenced to a Total of 12 Years, 58-Year-Old Sichuan Woman Stands Trial Again for Practicing Falun Gong” (May 12, 2025): trial report plus full prior-persecution history (1999 appeals, 2000 arrest, 2001 three-year sentence, 2005 arrest, 2006 nine-year sentence, psychiatric-hospital detention). Article (practitioner-affiliated news site).
- Minghui.org — “57-Year-Old Sichuan Woman Given 5 Years After 2 Prior Prison Sentences Totaling 12 Years” (August 13, 2025): sentencing report — five years, 20,000-yuan fine, judges named. Article (practitioner-affiliated news site).
- Minghui.org — “Additional Persecution News from China – September 7, 2025 (9 Reports)” (September 15, 2025): item 8 notes the original verdict was upheld on August 25, 2025. Article (practitioner-affiliated news site).
- Minghui.org — “58-Year-Old Woman Loses Four Incisors and Suffers Severe Medical Problems Two Months After Prison Admission” (December 16, 2025): Chengdu Women’s Prison admission and the December 4 family visit. Article (practitioner-affiliated news site).
- Bitter Winter — “Falun Gong Repression Intensifies: Practitioner Yao Jiaxiu Sentenced to Five Years” (August 2025): sentencing confirmation — five years, 20,000-yuan fine; notes the sentence runs until September 20, 2029; recounts prior imprisonment. Article (established monitoring organization covering religious freedom).
- World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong — investigation notice on the Yao Jiaxiu case (August 14, 2025; updated September 7, 2025): case summary and named officials involved in the Xichang proceedings. Notice (PDF) (practitioner-affiliated investigative organization).
- Rights Defense Network / 维权网 — Issue 131 monthly in-custody report (August 31, 2026): lists “Yao Jiaxiu” in the “sentenced to 5 years” group; the Chinese edition gives 姚佳秀 and the A–Z index. (Monitoring-organization roster.)
Evidentiary limitations
- All arrest, trial, sentencing, and prison-condition details come from practitioner-affiliated reporting (Minghui, WOIPFG) or a monitoring organization (Bitter Winter); no court judgment or state-media coverage was locatable.
- Minor date variances: Minghui dates the September 2024 seizure to September 20; WOIPFG dates it to September 21. Minghui’s May 2025 report calls her 58 while the August 2025 report calls her 57 (birth month December 1967).
- The sentence-end date of September 20, 2029 is reported by Bitter Winter citing the judgment; the judgment itself was not located.
- No independent (non-affiliated) court record of the Xichang verdict was found.
Person profile: Yao Jiaxiu / 姚佳秀