(TibetanReview.net, Sep19’25) – In what is seen as the latest case of transnational repression, a young Chinese woman studying in France has disappeared some seven weeks ago while on a trip to visit her family in Hunan province. She is an editor for the digital platform “Chinese Youth Stand for Tibet” (CYST) that emerged after the “white paper protests” in China at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2022. The group’s aim is to “share the hidden truth about Tibet among the Chinese-speaking community.”
On Jul 5, Zhang Yadi, 22, who has been studying in France, returned to Changsha, Hunan province, to visit family. On Jul 30, she disappeared in Shangri-La, Yunnan province, reported rfa.org Sep 28. Shangri-la is China’s new name for Gyalthang (Chinese: Zhongdian), a traditionally Tibetan territory and a top tourist attraction.
The report cited CYST as saying Zhang may have been taken by state security on suspicion of “endangering national security.”
Also known as Tara and online as @TaraFreesoul, Zhang focused on promoting dialogue between ethnic groups in China, particularly between Han and Tibetan communities. In September, she was scheduled to begin her studies at the School of Oriental and Asian Studies in London, the report said.
“This is a case of transnational repression,” Maya Wang, associate Asia director at Human Rights Watch, has told RFA. “The fear is that students’ activism abroad is being closely watched. The impact here is to make everyone very worried about everything they say and do, including outside of China.”
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The report noted, citing CYST, that before her disappearance, Zhang kept close contact with friends and family, but communication was abruptly cut off after Jul 30. Afterwards, contradictory statements appeared on her WeChat account, raising further concern.
Prominent Chinese human rights lawyer Jiang Tianyong who traveled to Changsha to provide legal assistance to Zhang’s mother was taken away while meeting her on Sep 16 by three unidentified men and brought to police station but released afterwards, CYST has said.
Ginger Duan, CYST’s founder and Zhang’s best friend, has told RFA that in their last direct contact after Jul 30, the latter said she was in hospital, but could not confirm it with a selfie or a doctor’s note when asked by Duan.
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Duan has said CYST represents a new generation of young Chinese committed to peacefully mediating ethnic conflicts.
“Yet, when these youths attempt to foster grassroots exchanges and dispel longstanding misunderstandings about Tibet among the Mandarin-speaking public, the Chinese Communist Party responds with arrests.”
To Duan, “this action clearly exposes the true nature of Beijing’s Tibet policy: they neither want genuine mutual understanding between Han and Tibetan people, nor do they want a real resolution to the Tibetan issue.”
“We therefore urge the international community to pay close attention to this case. Only through sustained global awareness and pressure can the CCP be compelled to release Tara and finally confront the Tibet question,” Duan has said.
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Duan fears that Zhang now faces a heavy sentence, with charges tied to national security, particularly concerning the highly sensitive issue of Tibet and China’s ethnic minority policies. “The case is further framed under allegations of ‘organized crime’.”
According to Maya Wang, “It’s quite alarming that her arrest is a sign of the Chinese government’s increasing repression, tightening of ideological control, which means that there is increasingly heavy repression in places like Tibet and Xinjiang, where even expressing solidarity for the rights of Tibetans and Uyghurs is often now treated quite harshly.”
“Her activism took place in France,” Wang has told RFA. “It is important for the French government also to protect the rights and freedom of expression of its residents in France and press the Chinese government to release her.”