(Minghui.org) A married couple in Meizhou City, Guangdong Province, was sentenced to eight years and collectively fined 120,000 yuan, because they practice Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
The ordeal of Mr. Tang Zhiwei and his wife, Ms. Liu Xuemei, began on the night of July 7, 2025, when they were reported for putting up informational posters about Falun Gong. The Meijiang District Police Department soon dispatched eight cruisers and three firetrucks to the couple’s home. They refused to open the door. The police left but kept them under close surveillance.
Long before the incident in July, the police started to monitor the couple. Strange cars were often seen parked in their apartment complex. Their family-owned clothing store was frequented by strangers who were not customers. Suspicious cars and people were seen outside the store all the time. The couple felt they had no choice and eventually closed the shop.
The couple went out to distribute Falun Gong materials again on October 11, 2025, and were followed by the police. As soon as they stepped outside their apartment complex the next day, they were seized by officers who were waiting outside. Their home was raided, and their laptop, Falun Gong books, and informational materials were confiscated.
The couple is held at the Meizhou City Detention Center. The Meijiang District Procuratorate issued formal arrest warrants for them on November 17, 2025, before transferring the case to the Meixian District Procuratorate.
The Meixian District Court scheduled a hearing for March 9, 2026, but then postponed it to March 24. The couple was convicted in late April 2026. Presiding judge Zhang Wei, assistant judges Zhang Qiaoling and Ye Shu, court clerk Ling Yue, and the judges’ assistant Huang Jiajia, signed the verdict. Ms. Liu has filed an appeal.
In recent years, the Meixian District Court has handed heavy terms with heavy fines to several practitioners. Mr. Li Zhuozhong and his wife, Ms. Liao Yuanqun, were each sentenced to ten years and collectively fined 150,000 yuan on October 18, 2024. Ms. Fu Xuebing, a 53-year-old former bank manager, was sentenced to five years and fined 80,000 yuan in early April 2025.