Robert Besser
01 Dec 2021, 13:03 GMT+10
ST. PETERSBURG, Florida: The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) has said it "remains deeply concerned" that Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai "is not free from censorship or coercion."
In an email this week, the WTA said that CEO Steve Simon has attempted to reach out to Peng "via various communication channels," including two emails, "to which it was clear her responses were influenced by others."
"The WTA remains concerned about her ability to communicate freely, openly, and directly," the statement added.
In screenshots of a since-deleted social media post dated 2nd November, Peng publicly accused former Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli of coercing her into sex at his home.
Following her accusation, she disappeared from public view, prompting several fellow tennis players to use the hashtag, #WhereIsPengShuai, to voice their concern.
In a statement on 21st November, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said its president, Thomas Bach, had a 30-minute video call with three-time Olympian Peng, with the participation of a Chinese sports official and an IOC official.
During the call, Peng appeared to be "doing fine" and "relaxed," and she "would like to have her privacy respected," the statement added.
However, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has criticized the IOC's role in collaborating with Chinese authorities on Peng Shuai's reappearance.
On 23rd November, HRW China Director Sophie Richardson said, "It is a whole different order of magnitude to see Thomas Bach, in a photograph with a woman, Peng Shuai, under intense pressure, we can reasonably assume from other cases, to walk back her claims of sexual assault."
But in an interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour this week, IOC member Dick Pound said he was "puzzled" by the reaction to the video call between Peng and Bach.
"Basically, lots of people around the world were looking to see what happened to Peng Shuai and nobody was able to establish contact. Only the IOC was able to do so. They found her in good health and in good spirits and they saw no evidence of confinement or anything like that," he added.
Since his retirement in 2018, Zhang has kept a low profile and is rarely seen in public life.
Get a daily dose of Colorado Star news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Colorado Star.
More InformationBANGKOK, Thailand: Instant noodle makers have asked Thailand to allow them to increase their prices to meet rising costs, which ...
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia: In a Twitter post published this week, Saudi Arabia's Kingdom Holding said it had invested in Russian ...
DELHI, India: Dubbed the country's Warren Buffett, India's best-known stock investor and self-made billionaire, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, died on August 14 ...
SAO PAULO, Brazil: Brazil's central bank chief Roberto Campos Neto has said that he believes credit cards will cease to ...
LONDON, England: Despite a recent rebound, speculators in the international copper market, considered an indicator of the world's economic health, ...
MOSCOW, Russia: Financial information released by the Rosstat federal statistics service this week indicated that Russia's economy shrank 4 percent ...
As China unleashed live-fire military exercises off the coast of Taiwan, simulating a real "reunification by force" operation in the ...
MIAMI, Florida: Carnival cruise lines, including Carnival Cruise, Princess Cruises and Cunard, have made plans to drop mandatory COVID-19 testing ...
SACRAMENTO, California: California Governor Gavin Newsom is proposing to give a $1.4 billion government loan to extend the life of ...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention relaxed its COVID-19 guidelines last week, driven by ...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: After a study released on Wednesday projected a 15 to 20 percent reduction in the ...
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - According to information released on Friday, Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf, (PTI) has hired a lobbying firm with offices in ...