On August 16th, various human rights and pro-Tibetan organizations in the Bay Area held a seminar. Participants wrote postcards and greeting cards to show support for Zhang Yadie, who has been detained for a year, and urged the Chinese authorities to release her immediately.
The event was co-organized by the Chinese Youth for Tibet Association, Twinkling Star Affairs Office, Chinese Democracy and Human Rights Alliance, Democratic Education Foundation, and the San Jose branch of the Chinese Democratic Party, held at the Alviso Enlightenment Book Club. The theme of the event was “A free spirit never succumbs to dictatorship,” highlighting Zhang Yadie’s disappearance, arrest, and the rescue efforts by various sectors over the past year.
Zhang Yadie, also known by her online name Tara and Tibetan name Wangcuo, was born in Changsha, Hunan in 2003. She studied business in France and was later admitted with a scholarship to the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London for a master’s program in anthropology, scheduled to commence in the fall of 2025. She had been involved in the Blank Paper Movement and served as an editor for the Chinese Youth for Tibet Association, focusing on promoting Han-Tibetan exchanges through writing and advocating for Tibetan culture, faith, and fundamental rights.
Ginger Duan, the founder of the Youth for Tibet Association, described Zhang Yadie as introverted and rarely participating in offline political activities. She became interested in Tibetan culture and Tibetan Buddhism after reading the autobiography of the Dalai Lama in high school, subsequently teaching herself Tibetan language. Duan mentioned that Zhang believed that many Tibetans wished to preserve their language, faith, and culture, and their demands should not be equated to simply advocating for Tibetan independence.
Zhang Yadie met Tibetan musician Gesar Yapei in France, and the two later registered as legally protected partners under French law. Yapei taught her Tibetan language, and they communicated in Tibetan. After Zhang’s arrest, he wrote a piece in Tibetan titled “To my wife, my beloved – Wangcuo,” recalling how they met, crossed age and ethnic differences, and how Zhang earnestly loved Tibetan language and culture. He expressed his desire to save her but felt powerless like a “wingless bird,” only able to wait from afar.
Following Zhang Yadie’s disappearance, the Changsha National Security Bureau criminally detained her on charges of “inciting separatism” and placed her in custody at the Changsha State Security Bureau Detention Center, as reported by the Youth for Tibet Association.
Approximately 10 days after Zhang’s disappearance, her WeChat account sent a voice message to Duan, claiming she was hospitalized due to a relapse of depression, with her mother managing her phone. However, her family had previously stated that she was participating in a “training” that prohibited phone use. She did not answer calls, disclose her location, or provide hospitalization records.
Duan also noticed that following Zhang Yadie’s disappearance, someone deleted content on her Xiaohongshu (a Chinese social media platform) account related to Tibetan and Bai ethnic issues. These unusual circumstances and contradictory statements led Duan to suspect that Zhang Yadie might be under the control of relevant authorities.
For the next two months, Duan worked diligently, contacting human rights activists, lawyers, and Zhang Yadie’s family both domestically and internationally, compiling call records, account changes, and timelines of her disappearance. Following the case’s public disclosure, she established the “Free Tara” website, engaged with international media, and traveled to Washington with Zhang Yadie’s photo to present the case to human rights activists, the Central Tibetan Administration, and Tibetan youth organizations, urging the international community to assist Zhang Yadie in regaining freedom.
On September 16, 2025, human rights lawyer Jiang Tianyong went to Changsha to offer legal assistance to Zhang Yadie’s mother. After meeting for over an hour at a coffee shop, three Changsha National Security personnel forcibly took them and summoned them but released them later that day.
After Zhang Yadie’s family hired a lawyer for her, the Changsha National Security refused the lawyer’s request for a meeting citing national security concerns. As of the day of the event, there was no update on her health status or the progress of her case, and it was unclear which lawyer was currently representing her.
Duan urged the public to share Zhang Yadie’s story, read her writings, and report the case to elected officials, international human rights organizations, and UN entities. She emphasized the importance of not only focusing on Zhang’s safety but also continuing to promote the Han-Tibetan dialogue she valued and advocating for the religious, language, and cultural rights of Tibetans.
At the event, organizers distributed informational cards to attendees. Participants collectively wrote postcards and greeting cards, expressing blessings and words of encouragement to be sent to the detention center where Zhang Yadie is being held, letting her know that the outside world has not forgotten her and is continuously working to help her regain freedom.异