US lawmakers and many rights groups have criticized the International Olympic Committee (IOC) after President Thomas Bach took part in a phone call with missing Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai.
“I’m worried to see the IOC make a statement from the CCP. [Chinese Communist Party] Although advertisers have been at face value since the disappearance of Peng Shuai, the promotion of this latest stunt has led the IOC to deliberately become ignorant and actively participate in the abuse of Peng Shuai by the CCP. ” -Representative McCaul (R-Texas) said. statement November 22.
McCall is the Lead Republican of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Peng (35), who was once ranked number one in the world for women’s doubles, publicly posted a sexual assault allegation against a former Chinese Communist Party official on Chinese social media on November 2. Disappeared. Gaori forced her to have sex a few years ago, and then the two had an agreed relationship on and off.
Her disappearance raised international concerns. She reappeared in China’s national media over the weekend, showing her in a restaurant in one video and showing her participating in a local tennis tournament as a senior official in another video. However, her re-appearance has not calmed her safety concerns.
On November 21, Bach and Penn made a 30-minute video call. According to the IOC, Peng said on the phone that he was “safe and energetic” and “lived in his home in Beijing.” Prior to the call, the IOC was silent about Peng’s situation.
“It’s clear that the IOC is more interested in its financial relationship with the CCP than it is in protecting the well-being of Olympic athletes,” McCaul added.
Five Democrats jointly join Jackie Spire (California), Lois Frankel (Florida), Brenda Lawrence (Mississippi), Veronica Escobar (Texas), and Sylvia Garcia (Texas). statement On November 22, the IOC’s video call said it wasn’t enough to show Peng’s well-being.
“We have joined the Women’s Tennis Association and people around the world to seek immediate and independent evidence of Shuai’s whereabouts and well-being, and agreed that the video released by the International Olympic Committee is inadequate. increase.”
The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) said the IOC’s call “does not change our call for a complete, fair and transparent investigation of her allegations of sexual assault without censorship.”
“If Shuai cannot speak openly and publicly prove her safety and whereabouts, then all options for the boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics and other options for exerting diplomatic pressure must be at the table. “Five lawmakers said.
Rights group
Participating in the WTA, several rights groups have accused the IOC of not doing any more for Peng.
Global athletes, an international sports rights organization, criticized the IOC for its “subtle approach” to Penn’s disappearance and accused him of showing “indifference to sexual violence and the well-being of female athletes.” statement..
“The IOC’s press release is a detrimental attempt to appease both the athletes involved and the Chinese authorities. This release has not been missing for more than two weeks, with Peng having never filed a sexual assault allegation. I’m pretending to be. “
“The statement has made the IOC part of the malicious publicity of the Chinese authorities and lacks consideration for basic human rights and justice.”
Beijing will host the 2022 Winter Olympics in February.
Wang Yakiu, a senior Chinese researcher at Human Rights Watch based in New York, said: twitter The IOC’s call was “obstructive.”
“The IOC is currently playing an active role in the enforced disappearances, enforcements and propaganda mechanisms of the Chinese government,” Wang wrote.
The Chinese government has a track record of engaging in enforced disappearances in which victims are detained in secret locations without knowing their family’s whereabouts. Under one-party rule, the Chinese government has developed a practice of supporting so-called social stability and silencing dissent.
Chinese Human rights activist And lawyers are often targeted. For example, human rights lawyer Wang Quanzhang was enforced by CCP authorities for more than three years after being arrested in 2015. He was released in April 2020 after being sentenced to 4.5 years in prison for “overthrowing the state government.” — A comprehensive accusation that Beijing often uses against opponents.
Human rights watch Calling on the IOC “We will withdraw the statement regarding video calls,” he said in a statement. In addition, the Olympic agency has stated that it must urge the Chinese government to “stop all censorship of Peng’s allegations and discussions.”
On November 23, the International Human Rights Service, a non-profit organization with offices in Geneva and New York, also criticized the IOC’s lack of leverage over China.
“The IOC has been instrumented at best to support the Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda and a high level of immunity against serious crimes of sexual assault and enforced disappearances, and in the worst case, the activity has been tolerated,” a nonprofit organization said. Is writing. statement..
“This is a grotesque betrayal of women’s rights, athletes’ rights, and the ideals of the Olympics.”
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Frank Fang is a Taiwan-based journalist. He covers news in China and Taiwan. He holds a master’s degree in materials science from Tsinghua University in Taiwan.