When tennis star Peng Shuai launched her explosive #MeToo accusation against a former Communist Party leader earlier this month, the Chinese government responded in typical fashion -- by muffling her with blanket censorship.
Now, more than two weeks on, Beijing is facing a storm of its own making, as the global women's tennis community rises up to challenge Chinese authorities for silencing one of their peers.
Peng, 35, a two-time former Grand Slam doubles champion, has vanished from the public eye since she accused former Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli, 75, of coercing her into sex at his home in a since-deleted social media post on November 2. Since then, Chinese censors have been diligently scrubbing her name and even the vaguest references to her allegations from the internet.
But the silencing campaign has failed to work outside of China. Over the past few days, the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) and some of its biggest stars, past and present, have spoken out in solidarity with Peng, demanding to know her whereabouts.
Concerns have only grown after Chinese state media released a screenshot of an email, purportedly from Peng and sent to the WTA, walking back her sexual allegations and claiming "everything is fine."
In an interview with CNN, WTA chief Steve Simon described the email as a "staged statement of some type." He also declared the association is "at a crossroads" with China, threatening to pull business out of the country if Peng's safety is not guaranteed and her allegations not properly investigated
And the reverberations don't just end in women's tennis -- already, male tennis players have joined the Twitter campaign titled #WhereIsPengShuai, as have football stars.
With the Winter Olympics less than three months away, analysts say the controversy, if unresolved, could snowball into an unprecedented showdown between the wider sports community and Beijing.
"Sports fans around the world will be paying attention to this story, which includes billions of people," said William Nee, a research and advocacy coordinator at NGO Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD).
"This is an absolutely looming disaster for the Chinese government. Every day that gets closer to the Winter Olympics, the disaster gets bigger and bigger for them -- if they don't resolve this."
The Beijing Olympics, scheduled for February, is already facing growing calls for a boycott over the Chinese government's crackdown on Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong. And the global outcry over the disappearance of Peng -- who has played in three Olympics -- can amplify those calls, Nee said.
That a since-censored social media post could rally the tennis world to stand up to Beijing would likely have come as a surprise for the Chinese government. In recent years, authorities in Beijing have successfully silenced not only countless domestic voices, but also a growing list of Western companies and industries hoping to maintain access to the lucrative Chinese market -- from Hollywood to the NBA.
But the WTA has refused to play along.
"There (are) too many times in our world today when we get into issues like this, we let business, politics, money dictate what's right and what's wrong," Simon, the WTA chief, said in his CNN interview Thursday.
"We have to start as a world making decisions that are based upon right and wrong, period, and we can't compromise that," he said. "We're definitely willing to pull our business and deal with all the complications that come with it. Because this is certainly, this is bigger than the business."
By preparing to turn its back on access to the Chinese market, including a 10-year deal to hold its annual finals in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, the WTA is posing a direct challenge to Beijing.
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Now, more than two weeks on, Beijing is facing a storm of its own making, as the global women's tennis community rises up to challenge Chinese authorities for silencing one of their peers.
Peng, 35, a two-time former Grand Slam doubles champion, has vanished from the public eye since she accused former Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli, 75, of coercing her into sex at his home in a since-deleted social media post on November 2. Since then, Chinese censors have been diligently scrubbing her name and even the vaguest references to her allegations from the internet.
But the silencing campaign has failed to work outside of China. Over the past few days, the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) and some of its biggest stars, past and present, have spoken out in solidarity with Peng, demanding to know her whereabouts.
Concerns have only grown after Chinese state media released a screenshot of an email, purportedly from Peng and sent to the WTA, walking back her sexual allegations and claiming "everything is fine."
In an interview with CNN, WTA chief Steve Simon described the email as a "staged statement of some type." He also declared the association is "at a crossroads" with China, threatening to pull business out of the country if Peng's safety is not guaranteed and her allegations not properly investigated
And the reverberations don't just end in women's tennis -- already, male tennis players have joined the Twitter campaign titled #WhereIsPengShuai, as have football stars.
With the Winter Olympics less than three months away, analysts say the controversy, if unresolved, could snowball into an unprecedented showdown between the wider sports community and Beijing.
"Sports fans around the world will be paying attention to this story, which includes billions of people," said William Nee, a research and advocacy coordinator at NGO Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD).
"This is an absolutely looming disaster for the Chinese government. Every day that gets closer to the Winter Olympics, the disaster gets bigger and bigger for them -- if they don't resolve this."
The Beijing Olympics, scheduled for February, is already facing growing calls for a boycott over the Chinese government's crackdown on Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong. And the global outcry over the disappearance of Peng -- who has played in three Olympics -- can amplify those calls, Nee said.
That a since-censored social media post could rally the tennis world to stand up to Beijing would likely have come as a surprise for the Chinese government. In recent years, authorities in Beijing have successfully silenced not only countless domestic voices, but also a growing list of Western companies and industries hoping to maintain access to the lucrative Chinese market -- from Hollywood to the NBA.
But the WTA has refused to play along.
"There (are) too many times in our world today when we get into issues like this, we let business, politics, money dictate what's right and what's wrong," Simon, the WTA chief, said in his CNN interview Thursday.
"We have to start as a world making decisions that are based upon right and wrong, period, and we can't compromise that," he said. "We're definitely willing to pull our business and deal with all the complications that come with it. Because this is certainly, this is bigger than the business."
By preparing to turn its back on access to the Chinese market, including a 10-year deal to hold its annual finals in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, the WTA is posing a direct challenge to Beijing.
Full article
Women's tennis is challenging the Chinese government -- and it shows no sign of backing down | CNN
When tennis star Peng Shuai launched her explosive #MeToo accusation against a former Communist Party leader earlier this month, the Chinese government responded in typical fashion -- by muffling her with blanket censorship.
