22 year old student advocate for Tibet detained in China

Zhang Yadi, from Changsha, Hunan, had been studying in France and was awarded a scholarship for a Master’s in Anthropology at SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies), University of London, beginning September 2025. She returned to China on 5 July to visit family, but lost all contact with friends and colleagues on 30 July while in Shangri-La, Yunnan.

Multiple sources indicate that Zhang Yadi may have been taken back to Changsha by state security authorities on suspicion of “endangering national security”, a vague charge routinely used to silence academics, students, and activists.

Before her disappearance, she remained in regular contact with friends and family. Since 30 July, communications have stopped, and inconsistent statements from her mother and activity on her WeChat account have only deepened concerns about her safety and her family’s freedom.

On 16 September, human rights lawyer Jiang Tianyong, entrusted by friends to assist Zhang Yadi’s mother, Ms. Zhou, was himself forcibly taken away by unidentified individuals while meeting Ms. Zhou in Changsha. He has since been released.

Fluent in Chinese, Tibetan, English, and French, Zhang Yadi was an editor at Chinese Youth Stand 4 Tibet (@CYS4T on X), a platform to support Tibet that emerged after the White Paper Movement in China, when Chinese citizens held up blank sheets of paper to protest censorship amid oppressive COVID controls.