Chinese Tennis player Peng Shuai went missing after she accused former Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli of coercing her into sex at his home, according to reports. She has not been seen in public ever since she made the allegations against Zhang Gaoli as per the screenshots of a since-deleted social media post from November 2. Zhang Gaoli was the former Vice Premier of the People’s Republic of China between 2013 and 2018 and a member of the Chinese Communist Party Politburo Standing Committee.
Chinese censors have removed all the mentions about the allegations from the internet after erasing Peng Shuai’s original post within 30 minutes. Peng Shuai’s Weibo account which has more than half a million followers disappeared as well.
Head of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Steve Simon has reacted strongly to the disappearance and said, “We’re definitely willing to pull our business and deal with all the complications that come with it,” adding, “Because this is certainly, this is bigger than the business.”
Simon has further noted that women need to be respected and not censored and said that all attempts to contact Peng Shuai online has failed. He said, “We have reached out to her on every phone number and email address and other forms of contact,” Simon also said, “There are so many digital approaches to contact people these days that we have, and to date, we still have not been able to get a response.”
The news of the disappearance of Peng Shuai comes at a time when China is supposed to host the 2022 Winter Olympics in February. However, the Chinese state media has allegedly released an email where the tennis player Shuai has taken back her allegations and stated that she was fine. Simon has questioned the authenticity of the email and described it as a “staged statement of some type,” and said, “Whether she was coerced into writing it, someone wrote it for her, we don’t know,”. Furthermore, he stated, “But at this point, I don’t think there’s any validity in it and we won’t be comfortable until we have a chance to speak with her,”
How the Tennis world reacted to the Censorship
Serena Williams said, “I am devastated and shocked to hear about the news of my peer, Peng Shuai. I hope she is safe and found as soon as possible. This must be investigated and we must not stay silent. Sending love to her and her family during this incredibly difficult time. #whereispengshuai”
I am devastated and shocked to hear about the news of my peer, Peng Shuai. I hope she is safe and found as soon as possible. This must be investigated and we must not stay silent. Sending love to her and her family during this incredibly difficult time. #whereispengshuai pic.twitter.com/GZG3zLTSC6
— Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) November 18, 2021
Japanese tennis player Naomi Osaka has tweeted about Peng Shuai disappearance on the social media platform asking where was Peng Shuai.
. #WhereIsPengShuai pic.twitter.com/51qcyDtzLq
— NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@naomiosaka) November 16, 2021
Novak Djokovic said, “When I heard the story of Peng Shuai I was shocked. I hope she is well and that we can find her as soon as possible”.
Novak #Djokovic: “When I heard the story of Peng Shuai I was shocked. I hope she is well and that we can find her as soon as possible”#NittoATPFinals #WhereIsPengShuai pic.twitter.com/XkWmQFpzEF
— Mario Boccardi (@marioboc17) November 15, 2021
Earlier this month, Chinese citizen journalist Zhang Zhan who was imprisoned for covering the initial Covid-19 outbreak in Wuhan was reported to be in critical condition and close to death following her hunger strikes protesting against the imprisonment. Zhang Zhan was detained by the Chinese government in May 2020 for reporting on the Wuhan virus and then sentenced to four years imprisonment.
