Chinese professional tennis player Peng Shuai made headlines in November but not for reasons related to sports. The 35 year old athlete, who was ranked world No. 1 doubles player by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), disappeared from the public space after she accused China's former Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli of sexual assault. This comes to no surprise as many, given that anyone who speaks against the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) are often silenced in a myriad of ways.
Since her accusation, Peng has been seen a handful of times in what appears to be staged appearances, including one video call with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the footage of which the organization refuses to release. In fact, the IOC has been heavily criticized after its conversations with Peng, which some believed was highly surveilled by Chinese authorities.
According to the Associated Press, IOC President Thomas Bach has since been bombarded with questions regarding Peng and her whereabouts. So much so that it overshadowed the IOC's diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics, which was called by the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia, and Lithuania. Bach acknowledged, however, that Peng's situation is "fragile."
"You have to respect this human being and in such a fragile situation (that) Peng Shuai is in, you have to make all the efforts to build trust," Back explained. "To engage in a human relationship. And this, as you can appreciate, is not easy in a video call."
Bach further shared that the IOC had initiated two calls with the Chinese sports officials and that the organization was open to more calls, which may possibly include an "independent" party, such as tennis legend Martina Navratilova, who was suggested to Bach. However, the IOC head said that they must respect Peng's wishes, as she had asked for privacy.
Bach went on to dismiss doubts about Peng's safety, saying that in all of the calls, "we all were having the same impression that we could not feel her being under pressure." He added that "It's very easy to have suspicions. Suspicions you can have always and about everything."
The WTA, on the other hand, has taken a vastly different stance than the IOC. According to Reuters, the WTA pulled its "lucrative tournaments" from China last week, a move that drew praise from several top sports figures.
"If powerful people can suppress the voices of women and sweep allegations of sexual assault under the rug, then the basis on which the WTA was founded - equality for women - would suffer an immense setback," WTA chairman and CEO Steve Simon said, as reported by the Christian Post. "I will not and cannot let that happen to the WTA and its players."
The Atlanta Dream, a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) franchise also took to Twitter to show support to Peng, writing, "The Atlanta Dream believes that protecting civil and human rights is a fundamental part of our core values. We do not condone violence or aggression towards women - or any human being - and will do all we can to protect female athletes in speaking out against such atrocities."
Arielle Del Turco, Assistant Director of the Center for Religious Liberty at Family Research Council, argued via Christian Post that President Joe Biden should take a page from the WTA's book and take a stand against China and its transgressions. The CCP has reportedly become even bolder in committing human rights violations and now has the time to take action, especially "for the sake of its victims" which include Christians, Uyghurs, and more.
