Ms. Yao Yue (??)

[Refer to points B, H on Beijing map]

Status: Prisoner of conscience, serving 12-year sentence

Gender: Female

Age: 36

City: Beijing, Tsinghua University dorms [point B, Beijing Map]

Former Occupation: Graduate student, Tsinghua University

Date of Most Recent Arrest: January 1, 2001

Last Place Detained: Beijing Women’s Prison, No. 8 Ward.  Located at 12 Weiyonglu, Daxing District, Beijing. [point H, Beijing map]

Known Acquaintances Overseas: Winston (Wenyu) Liu, husband, currently residing in Calgary, Canada.

Details:

Yao Yue and her husband, Liu Wenyu, were both graduate students at Beijing’s prestigious Tsinghua University. They were ranked highly in their classes,  and respected by their peers and supervisors. They are also both Falun Gong  practitioners.

On New Year’s Day 2001, the two were in their dorm room at the university when police stormed in and arrested them. They had been downloading  information about Falun Gong and the persecution from overseas websites and  then emailing the information to others to explain the nature of their  beliefs and to educate people about the persecution.

Yao was tortured through the night after their arrest. Eventually she signed a confession, resulting in a sentence of twelve years in prison. Liu was  sentenced to three years, which he served most of before being released and  returning to school. Eventually his supervisor helped him get into the  University of Calgary in Canada. Liu then left China and moved to Canada  where he now lives. Yao, however, remains imprisoned.

Additional References:

• Calgary Herald, “City rally hears student’s tale of torture, imprisonment in China,” May 20, 2008: http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/city/story.html?id=4b4fd555-3455-40ba-b594-3cd16aa28624  
• Falun Dafa Information Center, U Magazine: “Liu Wenyu: Behind Bars,” February 15, 2006: /article/611/?cid=61