Overseas student Zhang Yadi, who was arrested, spends her 23rd birthday in prison

(Rights Defense Network Information Center report) On July 7, 2026, this website learned: today is the 23rd birthday of Zhang Yadi, an overseas student who was arrested. She has long followed Tibetan culture and the rights of Tibetans, and has been dedicated to communication and dialogue between Han Chinese and Tibetans; on July 31, 2025, she was criminally detained by the authorities on suspicion of inciting separatism. Today, she spent her birthday in prison.

Zhang Yadi: known as Tara to her friends, female, born on July 7, 2003, currently 23 years old, an overseas youth activist; she has lived in France for an extended period. On July 5, 2025, Zhang Yadi flew back to China from abroad, arriving in Changsha, Hunan. On July 31, 2025, Zhang Yadi was taken away by state security authorities. Subsequently, Zhang Yadi was criminally detained by the Changsha State Security Bureau of Hunan Province on suspicion of “inciting separatism,” and is currently being held at the detention center of the Changsha State Security Bureau. During this period, the lawyer commissioned by her family attempted to meet with her, but was refused on the grounds that it “involves state secrets.”

She was awarded a 2025 scholarship for a master’s degree in anthropology at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, and planned to enroll in September 2025, but to this day she still cannot set foot on campus.

This website will continue to follow Zhang Yadi’s situation.