Who knows that the incredible story of tennis player Peng Shuai about the threat of American President Joe Biden to boycott the Beijing Winter Olympics scheduled for next February is also weighing. “This is something we are considering,” the president told reporters a few days after his virtual summit with Xi Jinping. A decision that would result in the absence from the Games of American diplomats, but not of the athletes. The reason for the initiative was explained by the White House spokesperson in the daily briefing, referring in particular to the Xinjiang region: “There are areas in which we have concerns, serious concerns: human rights abuses.”
Disappearance
But apart from the broader issues related to civil rights, in the United States as in the rest of the world, the story of Peng Shuai, the former tennis player who reported being sexually harassed by the former Chinese vice premier, Zhang Gaoli. Hers has been called the biggest accusation of the #MeToo movement in China, but it quickly turned into a story with increasingly murky outlines. The Chinese athlete, formerly number one in the world doubles ranking (as well as winner of two Grand Slam titles in the company of compatriot Su-Wei Hsieh), disappeared shortly after the complaint and the only news he has received since then is an email. , attributed to Peng herself, but on the reliability of which several doubts have emerged. All this took place in the days when Xi Jinping was hoisted into the pantheon of the Chinese Communist Party together with Mao and Deng.
The complaint
In fact, the case exploded last November 2, when Peng Shuai published on his Weibo page a long post denouncing the harassment suffered by Zhang Gaoli, with whom he allegedly had a relationship ten years ago, before his entry into the Politburo. . In his complaint, in addition to specifying some details of the relationship between the two, the former tennis player tells of a further meeting he had in 2018, although he admits that he has no evidence. Within minutes, Weibo deleted the post and his account disappeared from search engines. As for the research on Zhang Gaoli, there is no reference to what was reported by the former tennis player, whose traces have meanwhile been lost.
The suspicious email
The WTA, through a note signed by the president Steve Simon, immediately intervened asking not to censor the accusations and to give absolute priority to the health and safety of the athlete, declaring itself “deeply concerned” about what happened. On Wednesday, the China Global Television Network published on Twitter the text of an email addressed to Simon himself and attributed to Peng Shuai: “Regarding the recent news released on the official website of the WTA, the content has not been confirmed or verified by me and was released without my consent. The reports in that publication, including allegations of sexual harassment, are not true. I have not disappeared and I am not in danger. I’m just resting at home and all is well. Thanks again for taking care of me. If the WTA publishes more news about me, please check it with me and release it with my consent. As a professional tennis player, I thank everyone for your company and consideration. Hope to promote Chinese tennis with you if I get the chance in the future. I hope that Chinese tennis can continue to improve ».
#WhereIsPengShuai
Words that, however, did not help to lighten the climate: “The statements released by the Chinese state media only raise concerns about safety and the whereabouts of Peng Shuai,” was the response of Steve Simon. Meanwhile, the case of Peng Shuai is mobilizing the entire world of tennis and beyond. Japanese Naomi Osaka, after posting a tweet with the hashtag #WhereIsPengShuai, saw their Weibo page blacked out, according to Nikkei Asia. She was joined by Serena Williams, Martina Navratilova and the WTA itself, ready to question all its business in China (including media rights, sold for 120 million dollars to the iQiyi platform for ten years) in order to shed light on this case.