A week after Peng Shuai’s public reappearance, the WTA, which runs the women’s tennis circuit, was still “deeply concerned” on Saturday about the freedom the Chinese player really enjoyed after accusing a former senior official of sexual abuse. his country.
WTA President Steve Simon “remains deeply concerned about Peng’s freedom from censorship or coercion and has decided not to contact her again via email until he is sure that her answers will be forthcoming. personal and not those of its censors, “a spokesperson for the authority told AFP.
“Steve Simon contacted Peng Shuai through various communication channels. He sent her two emails, but it was clear that his responses were influenced by others, ”said the spokesperson.
However, she did not wish to return to information from the BBC based on the statements of a “friend” of the player and according to which she would have sent an email to Steve Simon, thanking him for his concern, but he asking not to intervene in order to leave her “alone”.
Censorship
The 35-year-old player disappeared a few days in November, after posting a long message on Chinese social network Weibo about her relationship with former Deputy Prime Minister Zhang Gaoli, 40 years her senior and retired since.
In this text, quickly censored on the Chinese internet, she told in particular how he forced her to have sex three years ago before making her his mistress.
Despite the censorship, the message had been made public worldwide, prompting a series of backlashes under the slogan #WhereIsPengShuai (where is Peng Shuai).
Many big names in tennis from Chris Evert to Novak Djokovic via the governing bodies of the WTA and his male counterpart ATP have demanded an explanation from China. Beyond the sporting world, the political world has also got involved with requests for clarification addressed to Beijing in particular by France, the United States, the United Kingdom, or the UN.
Peng Shuai finally reappeared in public last weekend at a restaurant in Beijing and during a tennis tournament in the Chinese capital, according to videos released by official media.
“Verifiable evidence”
Last Sunday, she also spoke by videoconference with the President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Thomas Bach.
According to the IOC, Peng Shuai explained that she was “safe and sound at her home in Beijing, but that she would like her privacy to be respected.”
However, the purely official and civilized nature of her statements as well as her appearances – Chinese Olympic Committee member Li Lingwei took part in the videoconference with Thomas Bach – were not enough to reassure and the movement of support continued. .
On Tuesday, Beijing finally reacted officially, an exceptional fact, while the Chinese Foreign Ministry generally refused to comment on this affair, saying that it did not fall within the diplomatic sphere.
But instead of giving news of Peng Shuai, Chinese diplomacy spokesman Zhao Lijian called for “to stop deliberately blaming this issue for hostile ends, and especially making it a political issue.”
So the next day, the European Union asked the Chinese authorities for “verifiable evidence” of the player’s freedom of movement and a “transparent” investigation into the allegations of sexual abuse.
In the absence of satisfactory answers, the WTA therefore continues to wonder where is Peng Shuai and how is she …