(Minghui.org) After Mr. Xie Xiaoping was forced to live away from home to avoid being harassed for his faith in Falun Gong, the authorities targeted his wife instead.

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a mind-body discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

The authorities in Lanzhou City, Gansu Province began to harass Mr. Xie in August 2020 and ordered him to write statements to renounce Falun Gong. They threatened to sentence him if he didn’t comply. To avoid the persecution, Mr. Xie decided to live away from home in September.

Unable to find Mr. Xie, the authorities took his wife to the lobby of the residential committee office, where they held her for eight straight days and forced her to watch videos slandering Falun Gong. They said they would let her go as soon as she disclosed Mr. Xie’s whereabouts. The authorities also went with her to her parents and other relatives’ homes to look for Mr. Xie.

On one occasion, the officers scaled the couple’s fence and broke into their yard. They took away the family’s three dogs and threatened to take down their three sheds.

Mr. Xie hasn’t returned home at the time of writing due to the persecution.