(Minghui.org) A married couple in Fuzhou City, Fujian Province were arrested at home on September 10, 2025, for their shared faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.

Several people knocked on the couple’s door before 1 a.m. that day and claimed to be community workers checking for “water leaks.” They pried open the door when the couple ignored them. More than ten black-clad agents barged in and raided the couple’s home without showing any search warrant. The couple learned later they were officers from the Gaishan Police Station. They confiscated two Falun Gong books and one magazine containing Falun Gong information.

The couple were interrogated separately at the Gaishan Police Station. Ms. Shi Aijuan was released over two hours later, but her husband Mr. Zhang Guoli, 42, remains in custody.

This is not the first time that the couple have been targeted for their faith in Falun Gong. Mr. Zhang, who retired from the military in 2014 after 12 years of service, was detained for more than six months in 2016 for writing to his former military colleagues about the persecution of Falun Gong. After he was released, the police harassed him and his wife, especially during major holidays, political events or anniversaries related to Falun Gong.

Since the couple and their two children live in Ms. Shi’s hair salon, the police often came to check if they had a salon license, residence permit [in China, people are required to have residence permit if they live in places other than where their household registration is issued], and fire safety measures. A bit past 9 a.m. on March 7, 2023, two security guards showed up when Ms. Shi had just opened her salon for business. They asked if she was the owner or an employee. About ten minutes later, two police officers came.

The four of them, without showing their IDs, said they were there to warn her of the safety violation in living in the same place as the salon because residential and commercial units were subject to different building codes and fire safety standards.

Ms. Shi responded that she and her husband were forced into such a living arrangement after the police pressured their landlords to terminate their leases many times over the years for their faith in Falun Gong. Between 2018 and 2020 alone, they had to move three times, with a young son and daughter in tow. They had no recourse but to live in the salon.

The police demanded to see Ms. Shi’s ID and residence permit. They also questioned if she still practiced Falun Gong. She refused to sign their paperwork. They also asked for her landlord’s phone number. She didn’t provide the information, and they threatened to fine her 200 yuan.

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