China Detains Student Activist Who Backed Tibetan Rights, Held Since July

Last Updated:September 30, 2025, 18:01 IST

Zhang was arrested on July 31 in the southwestern province of Yunnan, while visiting China from France, where she had been studying

22-year-old Chinese student and activist, Zhang Yadi. (Image via X/@SaveTibetOrg)

A 22-year-old Chinese student and activist, Zhang Yadi, has been detained in China since July for her support of Tibetan rights, according to Human Rights Watch.

Zhang was arrested on July 31 in the southwestern province of Yunnan, while visiting China from France, where she had been studying. She is currently being held in her hometown in Hunan province.

According to Human Rights Watch, Zhang is accused of “undermining national unity” – a serious charge under Chinese law that can carry a sentence of up to 15 years in prison.

Zhang was known for her work as the editor of a Chinese-language digital platform that aimed to “promote Tibetan culture, ease ethnic tensions, and encourage transitional justice and reconciliation.” She had also been an active voice on social media, with posts critical of the Chinese state’s treatment of ethnic minorities.

One of her posts on X read: “The history of China’s southwestern ethnic groups is a bloody tale of Han Chinese colonising, enslaving, and assimilating the indigenous peoples.” The Han, China’s majority ethnic group, make up over 90% of the population.

Zhang had been studying at the École Supérieure de Commerce de Paris (ESCP) and was due to begin further studies in London this September.

Her political activism reportedly deepened after she moved to France in 2022. There, she began writing for a pro-Tibetan newsletter run by the group Chinese Youth Stand for Tibet (CYST).

Speaking to The Guardian, Zhang’s partner of two years, Tibetan activist Kalsang Yarphel, said she had struggled to express her views while living in China.

“She always spoke about the problems in China faced by Mongolians, Tibetans and Uyghurs,” he told the publicatuon. “She says she was really upset in school because she couldn’t really share what she felt. But once she started writing [for the pro-Tibetan newsletter] and saw that people around her really appreciated her work and her heart, she was less depressed.”

Zhang’s arrest comes amid tighter controls on political speech, both inside China and abroad. A draft law introduced this month would ban actions that “damage ethnic unity” — including those carried out by Chinese nationals overseas. Human Rights Watch noted this could be used to criminalise dissent even outside China’s borders.

Tibet, officially an autonomous region of China, was annexed by Beijing in 1951. While China claims to have improved living standards in the region, rights groups say the government has imposed tight surveillance, restricted religious freedom, and pursued a policy of forced assimilation.

(With inputs from agencies)

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