Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai had a video call with officials of the International Olympic Committee on Sunday (November 21). She said she was safe. This is the first time she has spoken to the outside world publicly after “disappearing” in a few weeks.
But some people in the sports industry and observers questioned the call, which did not disclose the details. Global Athlete, a sports rights organization, criticized the IOC’s so-called “if nothing” attitude in the Peng Shuai incident, and accused him of “abominable indifference” to sexual violence and the well-being of female athletes.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) stated in a statement that Chairman Thomas Bach had a 30-minute conversation with Peng Shuai.
Also participating in the video call were Emma Terho, Chairman of the IOC Athletes Committee, and Li Lingwei, a Chinese member of the IOC and Vice Chairman of the Chinese Olympic Committee.
“(She) is doing well, and this is our main concern,” the statement read.
Peng Shuai, 35, is a well-known sports star in China, but she disappeared from public view for nearly three weeks after she accused Zhang Gaoli, the former deputy prime minister of China, of sexual assault earlier this month.
Her “disappearance” has aroused widespread concern from the outside world, and many international sports stars and governments of many countries have called on China to provide evidence to prove that she is safe.
“At the beginning of the 30-minute telephone conversation, Peng Shuai thanked the IOC for caring about her health,” the IOC said in a statement.
“She explained that she is safe and well and now lives in her home in Beijing, but hopes that her privacy can be respected at this time,” the statement added.
“She now prefers to be with her friends and family,” the statement said. “Nevertheless, she will continue to engage in tennis.”
The IOC’s statement also included a picture of the call, Peng Shuai smiling at the camera.
The International Olympic Committee said that at the end of the call, Bach also invited Peng Shuai to have dinner when he arrived in Beijing in January next year. Peng Shuai accepted the invitation.
On November 3, Peng Shuai accused the 75-year-old former member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China and Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli of “forcing” herself to have sex with him on his verified account on Weibo, a Chinese social platform. 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. Her posts were quickly blocked, and her name was blocked on multiple social platforms.
But the strong reaction from the international community seems to have prompted the Chinese state media to release a series of pictures and videos in an attempt to prove her safety.
Earlier on Sunday (November 21), Hu Xijin, the editor-in-chief of the party newspaper Global Times, posted a video on Twitter showing Peng Shuai’s appearance in a youth tennis match in Beijing. In the film, she smiled and stood with a crowd of attendees.
The organizer of the event also posted a photo of her with the players on Weibo.
Earlier, Hu Xijin also released two videos of Peng Shuai dining with his friends in a restaurant in Xicheng District, Beijing. In the film, people seem to deliberately talk about the date to support the shooting time.
However, a spokesperson for the International Women’s Tennis Association told Reuters that these videos were “not enough” to prove Peng Shuai’s safety and did not address the organization’s concerns about her condition.
Outside doubts are still there
After Peng Shuai spoke with the International Olympic Committee, doubts continued. Some observers expressed their dissatisfaction with the International Olympic Committee, believing that the committee did not seem to touch on the key issues and the details of the undisclosed call in the conversation.
“The (IOC) announcement pretends that Peng Shuai has never filed sexual assault charges and has not been missing for more than two weeks. This statement makes the IOC an accomplice in the Chinese authorities’ malicious propaganda and lack of attention to basic human rights and justice,” Global Athletes Organization Say.
The International Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) and people in the sports community said that the above-mentioned call did not address the concerns about the safety of this well-known Chinese tennis player.
“This is Peng Shuai’s latest news, but it hasn’t changed anything,” Mark Dreyer, founder of China Sports Insider, wrote on Twitter.
“The question about how’free’ she is still exists, especially when a Chinese official is accompanied on the phone,” he commented.
Lord Sebastian Coe, chairman of the International Athletics Federation (World Athletics), told the BBC that the question of where Peng Shuai is and whether she is safe has been resolved by the International Olympic Committee “through quiet diplomatic means.”
“No one has raised (us) there are still questions that have not been asked, and no one will say (in this matter) that there are no challenges. However, we must maintain international communication on sports affairs.” He added that Bach next January When arriving in Beijing, he will visit Peng Shuai privately.
On Sunday (November 21), a group of Chinese feminists held a rally in New York to support Peng Shuai.
Event organizer Crystal Chen (pseudonym) told the BBC that although Peng Shuai was “not physically injured” in the videos and photos released, she “has not gained true freedom”.
“She can’t say what she wants to say when it’s safe,” Christ Chen said.
Participants in the rally also called on Peng Shuai to speak directly with the International Women’s Tennis Association and asked her allegations of sexual assault to be investigated and resolved.
The International Women’s Tennis Association said in a new statement on Monday (November 22) that the latest video “does not alleviate or address WTA’s concerns about its health and its 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.