The story of Yang Xiaoming: when even blindness is treated as a threat.
by Yang Feng
The case of Yang Xiaoming, a blind Falun Gong practitioner from Kunming, shows how far state repression can go when it views faith as a crime.
Her story covers three decades of persecution, including forced abortion, job loss, and torture that led to blindness. Yet even her blindness did not protect her from being seen as an enemy of the state. In late March 2026, she vanished from her home in circumstances that friends describe as clearly coercive; an open door, a fallen chair, and scattered objects on the table painted a grim picture. For a woman who could not see, the message was chilling: even the most vulnerable are not safe from those who want to silence them.
Born in 1969, Yang began practicing Falun Gong in 1995. After the crackdown in 1999, she became one of many ordinary believers targeted for not renouncing their faith. Over the years, she faced forced labor, torture, and the loss of her marriage and job. By the end of 2012, repeated beatings had left her completely blind.
Her disability did not stop authorities from pursuing her. In May 2022, she was detained again, but the detention center refused to take her because of her medical issues. She was released on bail but still faced prosecution. On March 14, 2023, a court sentenced her to seven years in prison and imposed a heavy fine. Due to her health, she stayed at home and did not go into custody.
That fragile reprieve ended in March 2026. Friends who visited her home found signs of a sudden struggle and no trace of Yang. Given her sentence and the pressure she faced, they believe she was forcibly taken away to complete her term. If that is the case, she would likely remain imprisoned until 2033.
Her disappearance reveals a disturbing mindset: that a blind woman, already physically broken by years of abuse, is still seen as dangerous simply because she refuses to give up her beliefs. This mindset reduces faith to a form of rebellion, disability to irrelevance, and human dignity to a hassle.
Yang Xiaoming’s case is yet another a stark example of how repression continues even against those who pose no real threat—except the threat of remembering who they are and what they believe.
Yang Feng uses a pseudonym for security reasons.
