WTA insists on investigation despite Peng’s public show
The Women’s Tennis Association has re-echoed its call for investigation into Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai’s sexual allegation as well as her level of freedom since she made the accusation against top Chinese government official.
The Association noted that a public appearance by the Chinese star on Sunday did not address the its concerns about her wellbeing and stopped short of saying it may have been stage managed in the midst of censorship suspicion.
On Sunday Peng said a message she had posted on Weibo, China’s Twitter-like platform, in early November in which she accused the former vice-premier Zhang Gaoli of sexual assault had been “misunderstood”.
“First, I need to stress one point that is extremely important: I have never said or written that anyone has sexually assaulted me, I have to clearly stress this point,” Peng said at a cross-country skiing evening in Shanghai, in a video posted by Singaporean outlet Lianhe Zaobao. The statement was the first time the player had publicly addressed her previous allegations in person.
The 35-year-old also said she was not being monitored. “I’ve always been very free,” she told the reporter. She added that the post was a “private matter” and that “people have many misunderstandings” about it, but did not elaborate. She made no mention of Zhang, who has not commented on the matter.
However in a statement on Monday, the WTA said: “We remain steadfast in our call for a full, fair and transparent investigation, without censorship, into her allegation of sexual assault, which is the issue that gave rise to our initial concern.”
Peng disappeared from public life for almost three months after the Weibo post, prompting international concern over her wellbeing. China has not commented officially on Peng’s initial post, which was scrubbed from China’s heavily censored internet within half an hour. Her subsequent silence triggered a social media campaign under the hashtag #WhereisPengShuai.
Sunday’s video also showed Peng saying she had personally written a message last month to the WTA head, Steve Simon, denying any assault allegations, and that an English translation of the message published by Chinese state media was accurate.
At the time of the email, Simon said he “had a hard time believing” that Peng had written it. Screenshots of Peng’s message on social media drew scepticism after an observer drew attention to a text cursor in the middle of the email.
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This month the WTA announced it was suspending all tournaments in China over concerns for Peng and the safety of its players.
Zhang, 75, at the center of Peng’s allegation was a member of the party’s all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee until 2018 and a senior lieutenant to the president and party leader, Xi Jinping. He has not appeared in public or commented on Peng’s accusation. Recall that an attempt to ban #WhereisPengShuai T shirts at the recently ended Australia open failed following protests forcing organisers to make a U-turn and allow fans to wear the shirt. Top tennis players including Noami Osaka and Serena williams had voiced their concern following the saga and Peng public appearance without addressing the issues still leaves doubts in the mind of concerned tennis players.