Peng Shuai: From UN to WTA, how China is cornered over silence on star's allegations?

From a damming allegation of sexual assault against ex-CCP official to the sudden 18-day disappearance of China’s tennis star Peng Shuai, Beijing has come under fire over its handling of the situation involving the player. In the latest move that cornered China on a global stage, the World Tennis Association (WTA) suspended all tournaments in China including Hong Kong. 

The 35-year-old Peng is also a former top-ranked player in women’s doubles and has bagged titles at Wimbledon in 2013 and the French Open in 2014. She also participated in at least three Olympics. She was not spotted in the public eye after accusing a former senior official of sexually assaulting her. The tennis star wrote a lengthy social media post on 2 November claiming that she was pressurised to have sex three years ago with Zhang Gaoli in his home despite repeated refusals. 

Zhang is a 75-year-old former vice-premier who was a member of the ruling Communist Party’s influential Politburo Standing Committee. WTA, White House, the United Nations (UN) among several other international organisations and countries have questioned China over Peng’s disappearance. Beijing is also accused of silencing the sexual assault allegation that Peng made against the CCP official.

Peng had written in her 1,600-word statement, “I know that for someone of your stature, Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli, you have said that you are not afraid” adding that “But even if it is like throwing an egg against rock, or if I am like a moth drawn to the flame, inviting self-destruction, I will tell the truth about you."

The post was deleted within a few minutes after it was posted and the Chinese censors blocked search terms related to Peng’s allegation, including her name.

China’s silence over Peng Shuai case

Shortly after Peng’s 2 November post, on 14 November, WTA’s chief executive requested a “full, fair and transparent” investigation into her allegations in a statement. At the time, Simon even told New York Times that “Obviously she displayed tremendous courage going public.”

Last month, WTA chief executive had only threatened to pull out the association’s business from China of the country failed to appropriately probe into Peng’s remarks. 

Meanwhile, China continued to stay silent over Peng’s allegations. When asked about the country’s tennis star, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said “this is not a diplomatic question” adding that he had “not heard of the issue”. China did not address the issue that was sparking global outrage, for more than 10 days after Peng first jotted down her allegations. 

While Peng was not seen in public after her social media post against Chinese President Xi Jinping’s close aide, even on 19 November, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that it was “not aware” of the situation surrounding the player. 

Global outrage, concern over Peng’s disappearance

On 19 November, a spokesperson for the United Nations (UN) human rights office, Liz Throssell noted that the situation involving Peng called for “an investigation with full transparency into her allegation of sexual assault." Along with China, International Olympic Committee (IOC) also drew some backlash for declining to publicly comment on Chinese tennis player being missing from public view. 

"What we would say is that it would be important to have proof of her whereabouts and wellbeing, and we would urge that there be an investigation with full transparency into her allegations of sexual assault," Throssell said. 

Even the White House in the United States broke silence over the tennis star’s disappearance on 19 November and demanded proof of her safety. White House press secretary Jen Psaki not only condemned China’s censorship but also said that the US was “deeply concerned”.

Psaki also sought “independent and verifiable proof" of her location and condition. On 18 November, US President Joe Biden said that he was “considering” a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing which are slated to take place on 4 December. 

But, in a surprise development, on 20 November, Chinese state media shared a video showing the missing tennis star’s video dining in Beijing, a day after it was claimed that she posted three pictures on the Chinese social media platform, WeChat. CCP’s mouthpiece, Global Times editor Hu Xijin posted the video on Twitter and said that the dinner took place on Saturday which included her friends and family. Hu said that the player was “freely” staying at home and would be participating in some activities. 

While IOC president Thomas Bach held a video call with Peng on 21 November and claimed to be safe, European Union (EU) on 30 November requested “proof” of Peng’s safety. As per AP, EU’s statement said, “The EU joins growing international demands, including by sport professionals, for assurances that she is free and not under threat…In this spirit, the EU requests the Chinese government to provide verifiable proof of Peng Shuai's safety, well-being and whereabouts. 

“The EU urges the Chinese authorities to conduct a full, fair and transparent investigation into her allegations of sexual assault,’ the bloc added. Now, after multiple threats, since China is yet to launch a probe into Peng’s allegations against Zhang, WTA pulled out the association’s tournaments in China over Chinese censorship and failure to investigate the case. China, however, has slammed WTA's decision saying the association is "politicising sports". 

(IMAGE: AP)