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“Inciting Separatism”

Chinese student activist Zhang Yadi detained on separatism charges after supporting Tibet while studying abroad.
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Chinese student Zhang Yadi (张雅笛), a 22-year-old member of the activist online group “Chinese Youth Stand for Tibet” (华语青年挺藏会), was detained by state security officers in the city of Changsha on September 18 on charges of “inciting separatism” after returning to China on July 5 to visit family. Zhang, who studies in France and goes by the Tibetan name Tara (@TaraFreesoul), disappeared on July 30 while visiting Tibetan areas in northern Yunnan province. She is a scholarship recipient at London’s School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), where she had planned to begin studying anthropology this month.

For more on Tara, definitely listen to this interview with her back in June by Western Forest (西郊密林). Programs like Western Forest are a valuable contribution to coverage on the exile Chinese community. Consider supporting it by clicking “Support” under the YouTube video.


Lingua Sinica is an interactive online resource under the China Media Project (CMP) that explores the capacity and sustainability of Chinese-language media environments globally in their full domestic context and traces the lines of impact and engagement by PRC media and institutions.

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