For 49 days, Zhang Yadi (known online as Tara) has been missing in China. She is a 22-year-old international student, linguist, and advocate for Tibetan culture.
Originally from Changsha, Hunan, Zhang studied in France and was due to begin her Master’s in Anthropology at SOAS, University of London, this September after winning a prestigious scholarship. She returned to China on July 5 to visit her family. By July 30, all contact ended while she was in Shangri-La, Yunnan.
Reports confirm that state security agents took her back to Changsha under the pretext of “endangering national security”—a vague, overused charge regularly used to silence students, academics, and human rights defenders.
Beijing’s Repression Tactics
The CCP’s pattern is clear: silence the victim, pressure the family, and seize control of online accounts to cover up. In Zhang’s case, irregular activity on her WeChat and restricted statements from her mother suggest heavy state coercion.
Zhang was no threat, she was a bridge-builder. Fluent in Chinese, Tibetan, English, and French, she previously worked with Chinese Youth Stand 4 Tibet, a platform linked to the 2022 White Paper Protests. Her goal was dialogue and understanding. But in Xi Jinping’s China, dialogue itself is treated as a crime.
Silencing Legal Support
On September 16, rights lawyer Jiang Tianyong (already a frequent target of harassment) was forcibly taken by unidentified agents after meeting Zhang’s mother to provide legal assistance. Although later released, his detention was a warning: anyone supporting Zhang risks the same treatment.
Human Rights Groups Respond
London-based rights group Free Tibet condemned Zhang’s disappearance, calling it part of a broader campaign of transnational repression: “Her disappearance is not only an attack on a young woman’s freedom; it is part of a wider pattern of silencing students, academics, and activists abroad, and punishing them when they return.”
China’s crackdown is not limited to its borders. It follows citizens overseas, punishes them on return, and intimidates their families into silence.
Demands for Action
Human rights groups and supporters are calling for:
- Immediate disclosure of Zhang Yadi’s status and location.
- Unconditional release from arbitrary detention.
- Protection from mistreatment and fair legal process.
- An end to harassment of her family.
- Respect for Jiang Tianyong’s right to provide legal defense.
A Warning to the World
By targeting Zhang , a young, educated scholar committed to dialogue – the CCP is sending a clear message: no voice is safe, no matter how peaceful.
China’s use of “national security” is nothing more than a tool for authoritarian control. Zhang’s disappearance is not an isolated case—it is part of a system designed to crush independent thought and human rights.
Her case must not be ignored. It is a warning of how far Beijing is willing to go to silence the next generation.
