Image Credentials: Image Title: China Detains Student for Tibet Activism, Rights Group Says Source: (Sora.ChatGpt) Date: September 2025. Attribution: Created using AI-generated imagery (Sora.ChatGpt), this does not depict a real-world scene.
By Emma Cole | Staff Writer with Agencies
BEIJING — A 22-year-old Chinese student and activist who advocated for Tibetan rights has been detained in China for nearly two months on suspicion of “inciting separatism,” according to friends and Human Rights Watch (HRW).
The activist, Zhang Yadi, also known as Tara, disappeared on July 31 while visiting Yunnan province. Since then, she has been unreachable by both family and friends. HRW said she is believed to be held at a detention center in her hometown of Changsha, Hunan province.
Zhang Yadi should be starting graduate school in London.
Instead, she’s in a Chinese jail.Her “crime”? Peacefully advocating for Tibet while studying in France.
At just 22, Zhang is a brave voice for freedom—former editor of Chinese Youth Stand for Tibet, a student-led… pic.twitter.com/HAQPimgoFd
— Bodpa Warriors (@BodpaW) September 22, 2025
Changsha police have not responded to requests for comment, and Zhang’s relatives have also been unavailable. According to two of her friends, both human rights activists living overseas, Zhang’s family received a formal detention notice citing the separatism charge.
The offense carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. Rights groups note that the charge is usually applied to Tibetans, Uyghurs, and other ethnic minorities under heavy state surveillance, but has rarely been used against Han Chinese citizens like Zhang.
“Her detention reflects a growing trend of targeting Han Chinese who support minority rights, especially Tibetan and Uyghur causes,” HRW said.
In recent years, Chinese authorities have frequently used separatism charges to convict minority activists. Feng Siyu, a Han Chinese scholar of Uyghur culture, was sentenced to 15 years in 2018 on similar grounds, according to NGO Human Rights in China.
Zhang, a student in France, was due to begin a master’s degree in London this September at the School of Oriental and African Studies. She had returned to Changsha on July 5 to visit her family.
A friend and fellow activist, Ginger Duan, told reporters that Zhang’s family-appointed lawyer has not been granted access to her. Reuters could not independently confirm this.
Zhang is a member of the advocacy group Chinese Youth Stand for Tibet, which promotes dialogue between Tibetans and ethnic Han Chinese. She also contributed as an editor to the group’s Substack publication.
Human rights groups warn that Zhang’s case highlights China’s intensifying pressure on both minority communities and Han Chinese activists who show solidarity with them.
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