Who he is
Yang Xingli (杨兴理) is a man from Shulan City in Jilin Province, born about 1967. He was 34 when first documented as a detained Falun Gong practitioner from Jishu Town, Shulan, in 2001, and has been repeatedly targeted by authorities since 1999. He practices Falun Gong, the spiritual discipline that has been banned and suppressed in China since 1999. A monitoring report published August 31, 2026, still lists him as in custody serving a three-and-a-half-year sentence.
Arrest and prosecution
According to reports by Minghui, a Falun Gong-affiliated news outlet, Mr. Yang was arrested on May 25, 2023, for writing messages about Falun Gong in public areas. He was detained for ten days and released, then arrested again in July 2023 by officers of the Zhanqian Police Station and held at the Jilin City Detention Center. Shulan City is under the jurisdiction of Jilin City.
Minghui confirmed in mid-August 2024 that Mr. Yang had been secretly sentenced to three and a half years in prison, and that he had appealed the verdict. The court that handed down the sentence, the date of sentencing, and the outcome of the appeal have not been publicly documented.
Earlier persecution
Mr. Yang’s case file spans more than two decades. A 2001 Minghui list of detained Shulan practitioners recorded him as a 34-year-old Jishu Town resident who had gone to Beijing to appeal and been detained twice, and who was sent to a mental institution after going on a hunger strike. He has since been detained repeatedly in labor camps and a psychiatric hospital, was fired from his job because of his faith, and later moved to Yushu City in Jilin for work. Minghui reports that he suffered a mental breakdown from the trauma of the persecution, and documents severe beatings and torture during an unknown term in the Jiutai Forced Labor Camp.
Current situation
As of the most recent monthly roster available, dated August 31, 2026, Mr. Yang is recorded as serving his sentence in custody. The prison where he is being held has not been publicly identified, and the exact end date of his term has not been publicly documented — neither is stated here.
Media profile and archive
A chronological record of the reporting on this case, with source verification, is preserved in the companion media profile and archive.