Rights group urges China to release Tibetan activist – JURIST
Human Rights Watch urged Chinese authorities Tuesday to release Tibetan activist, Zhang Yadi (张雅笛), also known as Tara, after she created a digital platform advocating for Tibetan rights in Chinese.
Zhang is a member and editor of the activist group Chinese Youth for Tibet, which aims “to foster a deeper understanding of Tibetan culture within Chinese-speaking communities, challenge and deconstruct Han chauvinism, and address ethnic conflicts and prejudice.” The group emerged in 2022 after the “White Paper” protests, where they protested the “Zero-Covid Policy” in Bejing.
Zhang was detained since July, for allegedly violating article 103 of China’s criminal code, which states:
For organizing, plotting, or carrying out any activity to split the country and undermine national unity, the ringleaders or those whose crimes are grave shall be sentenced to life imprisonment or fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 10 years; active participants shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 3 years but not more than 10 years; and other participants shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than 3 years, short-term custody, non-custodial correction, or deprivation of political rights.
Jiang Tianyong, a Chinese human rights lawyer, who has assisted Zhang in her case, was detained on September 16 while traveling to provide legal assistance for the case.
Other Chinese activists, like filmmaker Chen Pin Lin, were arrested for creating a documentary about the Covid-19 lockdown measures within China. In 2023, Human Rights Watch called upon Chinese officials to allow for one-year commemoration of the “White Paper” protests, which occurred in October 2022.
