Yao Jie, who was one of the core members of Falun Gong Cult. According to reports, on October 18, 1999, Yao was sentenced for 7 years' imprisonment owing to the crimes of organizing and making use of cult organization to ruin the law implementation and obtain state secrets illegally.

During Yao's 3 years of imprisonment, there's only one report revealed on November 20 of 2001, on imprisonment life of Teng Chunyan, has talked of Yao Jie. The report has quoted Teng Chunyan's words, "I used to hear from other members of Falun Gong, that Yao Jie has dead as she gave up practicing Falun Gong. However, at my first day in the prison, I was so surprised to see Yao Jie alive in the jail." Ever since the report, there's no any media's report about Yao Jie.

After all, as a public character, Yao Jie's current situation has aroused attention from various circles. Especially during recent years, there have been many rumors on Yao's situation. Endured several setbacks, reporter eventually got the chance to meet Yao Jie, and know some of her recent situations.

As a routine, my meet with Yao Jie has women jailers aside. The first sight at Yao Jie gave my two impressions: one is that Yao's state of mind is rather good, she would be looked as normal as ordinary people if putting off her prison garb; the other impression is that Yao looked relax when entering the reception room with jailers, which shows that she is getting on rather well with the jailers.

Yao told me that now she is in the prison hospital due to hypertension. Before she entering hospital, her high-pressure was 230 ml, but now has returned to a normal level. Yao said that she didn't know she has hypertension until the prison physical checkup. In the past, she always feels headache, but never thought that she was sick. This is the third time for Yao Jie to stay in hospital during her imprisonment, Yao said, she herself was not willingly to accept treatment in hospital, it's others who persuaded her to be in hospital. Yao also said she only takes Chinese medicines.

Yao said that her daily schedule in the prison is as same as others: get up at 6 o'clock am, doing morning exercise, 7 am, breakfast time, 8-11 am, study or do some public good labors, 11 am, lunch time, after noon break, 1:30 pm-4 pm is also time for studying or working, supper time is at 4:30 pm, 6:30 pm-7: 30 pm is time to watch TV news, 7: 30 pm-9 pm, entertainment activities, 9:30 go to bed.
 
Yao also said that the scheduled everyday study and labor go alternately, and the work for women prisoners is knitting. Yao Jie knew nothing about knitting in the past, however, now she said, "I've finished all the knitting of my whole life in the prison."
 
Yao said, the entertainment activities are usually watching TV series, but she prefers to reading. The latest reading she just finished is "Shen Lu"-"Road to God".
 
In the prison, Yao has chances to meet families once every month. All her families live in Beijing, including husband, son, brother-in-law and sister-in-law, have visited her, her parents, in their 80s,living in faraway central Hubei province also have been visited her. Yao also can connect with her families by telephone two times a month.
 
Reporter has heard that there would have performances in prisons in festivals, so the reporter asked Yao if she would participant in such performance. Yao said that she has done such performance, she has chanted poems written by Mao Zedong and Guo Morou.
 
On August 22, 2000, Yao Jie has been released on bail for medical treatment, while for some proverbial reason, she was retaken into custody on February 2, 2001.

For some sensitive issues, reporter didn't ask her. While Yao did say something indirectly, "like the famous Chinese novel "Encircled City" says, people inside the 'encircled city' have known everything, while outsiders still know nothing, insiders want to go out, but outsiders want to go in.

(China News Service, December 31, 2002)