Name(s): Guofu Yao and Xin Liang
Country/Area of Origin: Nanyang City, Henan Province, China
Background: Guofu Yao, male, 66 years old (date of birth: 2/9/1953), a retired Chinese teacher of Nanyang No. 4 Primary School. He started to practice Falun Gong in 1996. Guofu Yao was detained for 10 days in September 2015 while exposing the persecution of Falun Dafa at a park in his hometown, Nanyang City, Henan Province.
Mr. Guofu Yao’s wife, Xin Liang, 65 years old (date of birth: 6/25/1954), a retired employee of a department store in Nanyang City. She started to practice Falun Gong in 1996. Before Xin Liang started to practice Falun Gong, she suffered several medical conditions including heart disease, hernia, Meniere’s Disease, etc. After practicing Falun Gong, she recovered from all her ailments.
Their daughter, Yolanda Yao, currently resides in Sunnyvale, California.
Reason for Arrest:
Mr. Yao and his wife, Liang, were detained by the Nanyang Public Security Bureau on December 5, 2015, when at least 30 plainclothes police officers broke into their apartment in Nanyang City, Henan Province. The officers also confiscated computers, printers, and boxes filled with material related to Falun Gong.
On December 12, 2016, they were each sentenced to 4.5 years in prison and fined 10,000 yuan (1,470 USD) and charged with “using a heterodox religion to undermine implementation of the law.” In January 2017, they appealed to Nanyang City Intermediate People’s Court, but it was struck down in March. In April 2017, Ms. Liang was sent to Xinxiang Women’s Prison in Henan Province where she suffered from high blood pressure, heart disease and hernia. Mr. Yao was sent to Zhengzhou Prison in Henan Province. He has been beaten and forced to engage in prison labor.
Latest Updates:
- According to an email from their daughter on March 18, 2019, Mr. Yao wrote a letter to his brother, saying everything is fine in the prison. Mr. Yao and Ms. Liang’s family are allowed to visit them every three months. However, there isn’t any recent news from Ms. Liang.