Out of the public eye for nearly three weeks, Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai appeared on a video call with International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach.
The IOC and the Chinese government want this to be the end of the Peng saga, which has lasted since November 2, when she accused former vice-premier Zhang Gaoli of sexual assault.
This may be wishful thinking on their part.
The interview offered few details, no follow-up on his allegations and raised more questions for the IOC, Peng and China.
MORE:Peng Shuai meets IOC Thomas Bach via video call
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This appears unlikely to satisfy Steve Simon, president and CEO of the Women’s Tennis Association, who has been outspoken in his criticism of China and threatening to pull all high-profile WTA events out of the country.
Even after the IOC video was released on Sunday, the WTA repeated what Simon had been saying for over a week, calling for a full, fair and transparent investigation “without censorship.”
According to the IOC, Peng had a 30-minute call with Bach, and he said in a statement that she was “safe and healthy, living at home in Beijing, but would like her privacy is respected at this time.
The IOC said Bach invited Peng, a former number one doubles player and three-time Olympian, to dinner while he was in town to oversee the Beijing Winter Olympics which open on February 4.
Not only is the IOC now embroiled in this scandal, but it has also been widely criticized for holding the Olympics despite allegations of crimes against humanity committed against Uyghur Muslims, Tibetans and other minorities.
Yaqiu Wang, an ethnic Chinese spokesperson for Human Rights Watch, tweeted that the IOC “now actively plays a role in the Chinese government’s machinery of forced disappearance, coercion, and propaganda.”
Concerns about the WTA’s Peng and many of its top and retired players – Naomi Osaka, Serena Williams and Martina Navratilova – and global attention to the WhereIsPengShuai social media movement have put pressure on China, even if news of his allegations faded home.
CNN reported that its signal in China was blocked around reporting on Peng.
A search of her name Monday on Weibo, one of China’s main social media platforms, produced only a few articles about her, and they do not refer to the sexual assault allegation or questions about the place where it is located.
The China Open posted a photo with her at Sunday’s youth tournament, but did not mention her in the caption.
Zhang is still missing. He left public life about three years ago after serving as one of seven members of the Politburo Standing Committee – the apex of political power in China.
Efforts to silence Peng reflect the ruling Communist Party’s determination to stifle criticism of its leaders. Athletes are particularly politically sensitive because they are known, admired for their achievements, and used to promote party success.
Peng, a three-time Olympian, accused Zhang of sexual assault on social media in China, which was immediately removed on the heavily censored internet. She also described having a consensual relationship with the Chinese official.
She wrote in part: “I know that you, Vice Minister Zhang Gaoli, a person of high rank and power, said that you were not afraid. With your intelligence, you will certainly deny it or you can even use it against me, you can reject it without worry. Even if I destroy myself, like throwing an egg at a rock or a moth flying into a flame, I will still tell the truth about us.
The IOC can claim that its “quiet diplomacy” worked and gave China a way to save face. On the other hand, it makes the IOC an active partner in conveying Beijing’s message, without subjecting Peng to an open interview about her allegations.
Although the IOC presents itself as a non-governmental organization, it is a sports company – like the WTA or the NBA – which generates 91% of its revenue through sponsorships and the sale of broadcast rights.
The WTA is the first sports organization to defiantly oppose China’s financial influence, a stark contrast to the IOC, which says it is powerless to intervene in China’s domestic politics.
“These statements make the IOC complicit in the Chinese authorities’ malicious propaganda and lack of respect for basic human rights and justice,” Global Athlete, an athletes’ lobby group, said in a statement.
“The IOC has shown complete disregard for allegations of sexual violence and abuse against athletes,” the statement said. “By taking a nonchalant approach to Peng Shuai’s disappearance and refusing to mention her serious allegations of sexual assault, IOC President Thomas Bach and the IOC Athletes’ Commission are demonstrating abhorrent indifference to “regarding sexual violence and the well-being of female athletes.”
