Tsering Dhundup
DHARAMSHALA, Sep 23: Global watch-dog Human Rights Watch has called on Chinese authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Zhang Yadi, a 22-year-old student advocate for Tibetan rights, who was arrested in late July while visiting her family in China.
Zhang, also known as Tara, had been pursuing her studies in France when she returned home during the summer holidays. On July 31, 2025, she was arrested in Shangri-La, Yunnan province, and is believed to be held at a detention centre in her hometown of Changsha, Hunan province.
The human rights watchdog stated that if convicted under article 103(2) of China’s Criminal Law, which criminalises “inciting others to split the country and undermine national unity”, Zhang faces up to five years in prison, or up to 15 if deemed a ringleader.
Rights groups note that Chinese authorities frequently invoke this provision to silence peaceful critics, equating calls for dialogue on ethnic issues or minority rights with threats to national security. The law, broadly defined and politically applied, has been used to criminalise speech, writing, and online activity that diverges from the Communist Party’s official stance, particularly on sensitive issues such as Tibet, East Turkestan, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.
While in France, Zhang edited a Chinese-language digital platform promoting Tibetan rights and interethnic dialogue. She is a member of Chinese Youth Stand for Tibet, a group that emerged after the 2022 White Paper Protests against Beijing’s Zero-Covid policy. The group publishes writings on Tibetan culture, critiques of Han chauvinism, and perspectives on interethnic relations.
“The Chinese authorities are threatening to imprison 22-year-old student-activist Zhang Yadi for years for speaking out against racial injustice and peacefully exercising her rights like many young people around the world,” said Yalkun Uluyol, a China researcher at Human Rights Watch. “The authorities seem fearful of people building bridges across ethnic lines that deviate from the official Chinese Communist Party line.”
Zhang, fluent in four languages, had completed her undergraduate studies at the École Supérieure de Commerce de Paris and was set to begin graduate studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London this September. Her arrest has sparked concern among fellow international students who fear repercussions for engaging with issues of social justice and minority rights.
Human Rights Watch noted that on September 16, prominent human rights lawyer Jiang Tianyong was briefly detained while attempting to assist Zhang’s family in Changsha. Though released, his phone was reportedly confiscated. The rights group urged Chinese authorities to ensure Zhang’s access to independent legal counsel of her choice.
Zhang’s case reflects a broader pattern of repression against individuals advocating for minority rights in China. Past victims include Uyghur scholar Ilham Tohti, sentenced to life imprisonment in 2014 for “separatism”, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo, who repeatedly spoke up for Tibet before his death in custody.
Human Rights Watch has called on governments, particularly France and the United Kingdom, to intervene. The French government, it said, should defend the rights of Chinese students to free expression, while Britain should press for Zhang’s release so that she may begin her studies in London.
“Zhang Yadi should be starting graduate school in London, not starting jail,” Uluyol stressed. “France, the UK, and other governments should press Beijing to free her and return her to her studies.”
2 Responses
Tibetans should learn by now that the CCP is nothing but an evil cult! Gyalo Thondup was coned when Deng allegedly said to him, “except for independence, anything can be discussed”. Whether Deng did say these words or not cannot be confirmed but my own take is he did. The reason is: Gyalo Thondup would not have lied to his brother especially since he is the Dalai Lama! However, the CCP thugs have rejected to have said such a thing! The present CTA policy was found on the basis of this statement without taking the Tibetan national interest but rather the interest of the Chinese regime as the overriding concern. The attitude of the world towards communist China has changed enormously over the last decade! Once courted as a dream market for the voracious western capitalist has taken a turn for the worse. The dramatic change took place after the Wuhan virus which is widely believed to be a deliberate release of the covet-19 virus which is in fact a biological weapon that the Chinese communists were manufacturing at the Wuhan laboratory. Others claim that it was an accident. Whatever the reason, it killed millions around the world. That turned the entire world against communist China. The CCP’s attempt to deny access to all the records, data and information did not help to alley fears of Chinese complicity. Inside communist China, the three year lock down of the people without any consideration for their health and well-being further alienated the Chinese population against the CCP. The white paper movement was a clear indication of the disapproval of the CCP. Thus, the CCP has lost all of its good will from the outside world as well as inside China. Now, the entire world sees it as an evil cult that that must be destroyed! THIS IS THE CONSENSUS OF THE ENTIRE WORLD! It has lost its gloss even in the eyes of Africa who have been duped by the CCP who masqueraded as an anti-colonial entity to get its hands into the rich resources of Africa! The Africans are now openly saying, “China is a threat”! The new policy should be INDEPENDENCE as it was before the adoption of the present policy! There is no chance of talk either with U-May Lam or Independence because according the CCP stand, “there is no Tibet issue”! The issue according to them is just “The Dalai Lama issue”. The Dalai Lama clarified long time ago, stating categorically “THE ISSUE OF TIBET IS THE WELL-BEING OF THE SIX MILLION TIBETANS”. He proclaimed loud and clear that “he had no personnel issue and the issue of Tibet is not about the well-being of the Dalai Lama or his political status. Being a monk status is irrelevant to him”! What the Tibetans have to do is highlight the issue of Tibet on a grand scale using the present ideological and geopolitical tussle between America and communist China and the stiff competition between India and China for their own geopolitical and national security. These competing interests between America and China and India and China will only get worse as each country is driven by over aching national interest and security dimension. India’s neighbourhood is fraught with danger to its national security as neighbourhood countries are gradually sucked into the vortex of communist China and Pakistan axis. China is using Pakistan as the attack dog to keep India’s ambitions in check. India is desperate to break the China-Pakistan axis not only because they are acting in tandem but also because of the iron-clad relationship between the two. Now, it is clear that INDIA WILL HAVE TO FIGHT TWO WARS SIMULTANEOUSLY SINCE CHINA AND PAKISTAN ACT IN UNISON! Owing to this very reason, INDIA HAS NO OTHER CHOICE BUT SUPPORT TIBET’S INDEPENDENCE TO BREAK THE CHINA-PAK JINX!
The CCP may be looking powerful with its military parade but inside China there seems to be brewing discontent among the public owing to joblessness and economic hardship. The people have had enough of the CCP dictatorship and they are looking for an alternative that can bring about a better dividend for their livelihood. Never before, have I come across so many anti-CCP China-born expats criticising the regime and exposing its evil across the world. Those who talk ill of the CCP in English are much less than those who talk in mandarin. All of them seemed to have concluded that without the destruction of the CCP, the Chinese people will never experience freedom! Zhang Yadi (Tibetan nameTara) may not be the only Chinese who are supporting the Tibetans. Many Chinese who visit occupied Tibet are attracted to Buddhism and its peaceful nature and they often seem to be touched by the innocence of the Tibetans and their hospitality. According to the Tibetan man who gave her the Tibetan name Tara, she approached him in a restraunt where they first met and after learning he was a Tibetan, she asked for his phone number! According to China born Australian journalist Chen Lei, who was accused of spying which was trumped up and imprisoned for three long years in horrific conditions where, she was monitored 24/7 and was never alone but always accompanied by police guard including going to the toilet!!! She could not even look up and down or side ways but only look straight. She was made to live in a tiny toilet size room with bright lights 24 hours! She often thought of ending her life but was not only impossible but the thought of her young children kept her hope and sanity! This happened to a Chinese born highly respected bilingual journalist who worked for the Chinese state owned English News channel – CHINA GLOBAL TELEVISION NETWORK IN BEIJING!!! The regime uses harsh tactics against Chinese themselves because nobody sympathises for them while if they are Caucasians, they feel the heat of the respective Government and this annoys the regime. They execute expat Chinese rather than any Caucasians! The international community must put pressure on the regime or she will be treated the same like Cheng Lei on trumped up charges! The regimes goal for arresting her is as the Chinese saying goes: kill the chickens to frighten the monkeys!
It is so Godamne pathetic that the Chinese government so afraid of 22-year-old female student who advocates God given rights to all human beings, including Han Chinese. China should be proud of having such a bright and brave student who is not afraid of authoritarian regime. France and UK must call on China to release Zhang Yadi and let her continue her studies. I hope and pray that she would be released soon and continue her studies in London. I wish her all the very best in her future endeavors.