“This video does not change our call for a transparent investigation into her alleged sexual assault.”
A video call with Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai’s International Olympic Committee (IOC) has not addressed or eased her well-being concerns at the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), the WTA said on November 22.
Global Concerns About Former Doubles World’s No. 1 Tennis Player Following Her Rare Allegations of Public Sexual Assault Against Top Executives of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Retired on November 2 Has increased. About 30 minutes later, like the Weibo account, the 35-year-old player disappeared from the public eye for almost three weeks.
A journalist from China’s national media, Global Times, posted a photo and video on November 21 to show Peng’s smile at a children’s tennis tournament in Beijing. The day before, Hu Xijin, the editor-in-chief of the tabloid, posted a video clip on Twitter saying Peng was having dinner with his coach and friends.
However, these efforts still failed to calm concerns.
“It was nice to see Peng Shuai in a recent video, but he hasn’t alleviated or addressed WTA’s concerns about her well-being and communication skills without censorship or coercion,” a WTA spokeswoman said in an email.
When asked about the call to the IOC, a spokeswoman said: concern. “
In a statement on Sunday, the IOC said Peng attended a 30-minute call with President Thomas Bach, during which Peng said he was safe and at home in Beijing and wanted to respect his privacy for now.
The statement did not mention Peng’s allegations of sexual abuse. Instead, it contains a picture of a video call that looks like Peng’s smile.
In her currently deleted comments, Peng accused former Deputy Prime Minister Zhang Gaoli of forcing her to have sex a few years ago, after which they had an on-off agreement.
“I couldn’t explain how tired I was … I feel like a walking corpse,” she wrote in a post.
The contact between the IOC and Peng will take place in February as it prepares to host the Winter Olympics in Beijing. Olympic groups are in the limelight to promote the Games in the concerns of global rights groups and others regarding the human rights violations of the communist regime, including those against Uighurs and other ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. I am.
“The IOC is plunging into dangerous waters,” Amnesty International’s Chinese researcher Alkan Akad said on Monday. Reuters.. “They need to be very careful not to participate in whitewashing that can be a violation of human rights.”
“In the past, we’ve seen a variety of similar cases where people had no choice but to say what they were told,” he said.
In contrast to the IOC’s stance, the Women’s Pro Tour decided to confront the government and threatened to draw tens of millions of dollars worth of tournaments from China on this issue.
“I’m clear about what needs to happen and my relationship with China is at a crossroads,” WTA CEO Steve Simon said in a statement on Sunday.
The global tennis community, including Wimbledon (AELTC) and the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), has participated in a WTA campaign to clarify the safety of Peng.
Recently, Nicolas Mahut has joined a group of players such as Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Naomi Osaka, expressing concern under the hashtag #WhereIsPengShuai on social media platforms. The French double sprayer wrote:Where is Peng ShuaiAfter he and his partner won the ATP World Tour Finals in Turin on Sunday, with a TV camera lens. “
The United Nations expressed concern on November 19 calling for a full investigation of Peng’s allegations of sexual abuse. The United States and Britain also wanted real evidence of Peng’s whereabouts. The French Foreign Minister called on Chinese authorities to speak Peng publicly on Sunday.
The Chinese government has not acknowledged or commented on this claim, but discussions on this topic have been thwarted on China’s heavily censored Internet.
The ruling Communist Party has records in favor of so-called social stability and silenced dissenting opinions. Those who disclose the private life of rights activists, lawyers, or top CCP leaders can be forced to disappear.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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Dorothy Lee is a reporter for the Epoch Times, based in Europe.