A man who claimed to be a friend of Peng Shuai told the BBC that Peng Shuai is now at his home in Beijing and has “freedom of movement” and has not been punished. He also accused the International Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) of ignoring Peng Shuai’s emails.
Ding Li is the president of a sports equipment company headquartered in Beijing. After the Peng Shuai incident continued to ferment, he posted photos of him eating at a restaurant in Beijing with Peng Shuai and many others on social media last week.
“There is no supervision and pressure at all, and of course no punishment,” he wrote in an email to the BBC.
When the BBC asked Mr. Ding why Peng Shuai didn’t speak directly through social media, he reiterated the Chinese official media reporter’s explanation for Peng Shuai’s disappearance from public view, saying that she “just wished she had a good rest at home”.
Many people, including the International Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) and human rights organizations, are skeptical of this statement.
Peng Shuai, 35, posted an article of about 1,600 words on the verified account of the Chinese social platform Weibo on November 3, accusing the 75-year-old former Politburo Standing Committee member and Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli of three years ago. Forced to have sex with her. She admitted in the article that she was unable to produce evidence to prove her allegations.
This is the first time that a senior Chinese leader has been accused of this kind. Peng Shuai’s posts and many news pages related to her were quickly blocked, and she disappeared from public view.
The United Nations and the United States asked China to provide her whereabouts. Many sports stars including Serena Williams, Naomi Osaka and Novak Djokovic also expressed concern.
The strong reaction from the international community seems to have prompted the Chinese state media to publish a series of pictures and videos in an attempt to prove her safety.
Last Sunday (November 21), Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of the Chinese state media “Global Times” posted a video on Twitter showing Peng Shuai’s appearance in a youth tennis match in Beijing. In the film, she is smiling and standing with a crowd of attendees.
Ding Li, who also attended the tennis match, said that he is a friend of Peng Shuai for many years. He said that the Chinese authorities have not launched an investigation into Peng Shuai’s allegations, nor have they taken any action. He said the reason was “Peng Shuai himself clearly stated in his previous email to WTA that there is no problem of sexual assault.”
However, in Peng Shuai’s initial post on Weibo, she made it clear that Zhang Gaoli forced her to have sex with him.
Mr. Ding also claimed that Peng Shuai had sent several emails to Steve Simon, the president of the International Women’s Tennis Association. He said that Peng Shuai “has made it clear that she is safe, and posted her video and photos…he avoided talking.”
When asked why Peng Shuai chose to make video contact with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) instead of WTA, Ding Li claimed that this was because the goalkeeper Peng Shuai told more than 10 tennis players and media organizations about her contact information, which led to her being caught by many. “Excuse me” on the phone.
He said that this caused Peng Shuai’s life to be “seriously affected”, which “has a lot to do with her not talking with Simon.”
On Friday (November 26), Ding Li posted a screenshot of an email purportedly written by Peng Shuai to WTA Chairman Simon on Twitter. In the email, Peng Shuai stated that he “does not want to be disturbed at the moment.”
The WTA has repeatedly requested that Peng Shuai’s allegations be “conducted a comprehensive, fair, transparent, and uncensored investigation”, and stated that the organization could not directly contact Peng Shuai after the incident.
However, last Sunday (November 21), the International Olympic Committee stated that the chairman of the organization Thomas Bach and Peng Shuai had a 30-minute video call.
The International Olympic Committee said in a statement that Peng Shuai was “safe and good” and “hoped that her privacy can be respected at this time”. However, some people in the sports industry and human rights organizations said that Peng Shuai’s call with the International Olympic Committee did not address concerns about the safety of the well-known Chinese tennis player.
The sports rights organization Global Athlete criticized the IOC’s so-called “if nothing” attitude in the Peng Shuai incident, and accused him of showing “abhorrent indifference” to sexual violence and the well-being of female athletes.
The WTA issued another statement on Monday (November 22) stating that the video call between Peng Shuai and the Olympic Committee “does not alleviate or resolve WTA’s concerns about his health and his ability to communicate without censorship or coercion.”
“This video does not change our call. We call for a comprehensive, fair and transparent investigation of her sexual assault allegations without review. This is the issue that caused our initial concern,” the statement said.
Zhang Gaoli, who served as China’s vice premier from 2013 to 2018, has not yet responded to this matter. This senior official, who was known for his unsmiling and simplicity in his tenure, also led the preparations for the Beijing Winter Olympics.
After avoiding discussions for many days, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian spoke for the first time on Tuesday (November 23). He said the incident “should not be politicized” and hoped that “some people would stop malicious hype about it”.
WTA Chairman Simon threatened to withdraw WTA business from China, which is expected to have a significant impact. There will be 10 WTA events held in China next year, including the Wuhan Open and the WTA year-end finals in Shenzhen.
Next year’s Wuhan Open will be the first time tennis players have returned to Wuhan since the outbreak of the new crown epidemic.
Reported in Chinese by Tessa Wong and BBC News.