According to RFA, Xie was arrested in December 2021 on charges of "subversion" after supporting a teacher who was detained in a psychiatric hospital for criticizing the government. The teacher, Li Tiantian, had spoken out about the expulsion of a Shanghai journalism professor who encouraged students to question official versions of the Nanjing Massacre. Xie had also posted a video mocking President Xi Jinping, which led to his arrest, the RFA reported.