Beijing, Aug. 27 -- Zhejiang-born academic Feng Siyu, once celebrated as one of China's most gifted students, has disappeared from public view since her arrest in 2018. According to Human Rights in China (HRIC), she is believed to be serving a lengthy prison sentence linked to her research on Uyghur cultural traditions.

Feng first drew national attention in 2012 after being admitted to 17 of the world's leading universities, including the University of Chicago, UC Berkeley, and Northwestern. Chinese media portrayed her as a prodigy. She eventually pursued a degree in history at Amherst College in Massachusetts and later continued her postgraduate studies at SOAS, University of London.

Fluent in both English and Uyghur, Feng specialised ...