An incoming SOAS student is believed to be detained in China over her support of Tibetan rights.
Tara Zhang Yadi, 22, was due to begin her degree, but disappeared while on holiday in China over the summer.
Arrested on charges of “inciting separatism”, she is believed to be in a detention facility in her home city of Changsha. If found guilty, she faces a sentence of up to 15 years.
Tara, who goes by the online moniker Tara Freesoul, was a former student of the ESCP business school in Paris. There, she began writing for the newsletter Chinese Youth Stand for Tibet (CYST), the Guardian reports.
Her interest in Tibetan repression and experiences visiting Tibet fuelled her towards activism – and eventual imprisonment.
Previously, the charge of “inciting separatism” was rarely used against members of the Han Chinese ethnic majority, but it is now increasingly used to target those who advocate for minority rights under Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Kalsang Yarphel, Tara’s Tibetan partner, said: “She always spoke about the problems in China faced by Mongolians, Tibetans, and Uyghurs. She says she was really upset in school because she couldn’t really share what she felt.”
Tara returned to China in early July to visit her family and explore Tibet. She travelled to Shangri-La, a city central to the redevelopment of the region as a tourist destination. Whilst travelling, she stayed in close contact with Kalsang and her friend, Ginger Duan – the founder of CYST – sending messages and pictures of her trip.
Since the incoming SOAS student was detained in China in July, friends say they have received messages from Tara. However, something seems to have changed. No longer talking with her partner in Tibetan, as they usually did, Tara now writes in English, and, when asked about her wellbeing, she does not elaborate.
“I don’t think she expected this heavy charge,” said Ginger, “because we are not advocating for separatism, I don’t want her to be in jail for anything.”
Esteemed human rights lawyer, Jiang Tianyong, offered his services to Tara’s mother. But before he could meet her, he was arrested by the authorities. He was, however, later released.
Although members of CYST were not targeted by Chinese authorities before, Tara’s Tibetan language teacher, Yicheng Huang, believes she should have been warned.
“She always had passion and ideas, always was courageous. And she believed in Buddhism. She didn’t realise how dangerous it was.”
Groups like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International are increasingly concerned about Chinese students suffering from transnational repression.
A Chinese student, who wished to remain anonymous, told Amnesty International: “Transnational repression is a feeling, an atmosphere, created by the Chinese government.
“They can’t monitor everything and everyone, so their process is to create this stressful environment to prevent people from joining movements, from participating in events.”
Since its annexation in 1951 and the exile of its spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, Tibet has felt the consequences of Chinese repression. The government progressively clamped down on expressions of Tibetan culture, religion, and identity. In 2008, severe censorship, imprisonment and torture followed large protests against the Chinese Communist Party in Tibet, according to Human Rights Watch.
A spokesperson for SOAS told The Guardian: “We are aware of reports that a Chinese citizen who has been offered a place at SOAS is missing and detained. We are following the case very closely and offering support to those impacted via the channels available to us.”
The Chinese embassy did not respond to The Tab’s request for comment.
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