Allegations against politicians
“I don’t know”: China weighs down questions about the missing tennis star Peng Shuai
Peng Shua from China in action against Caroline Garcia from France during the women’s single match at the China Open tennis tournament in Beijing
© Wu Hong / DPA
The tennis player Peng Shuai, who disappeared after allegations of abuse against an ex-vice premier, is now also involved in diplomacy. China is trying to get rid of questions.
Where is Peng Shuai? The US government is now also asking this question. Shortly after the tennis star raised serious allegations against a former high-ranking Chinese politician, she virtually disappeared without a trace. Now the US is demanding clarification. But China is blocking.
“It is not a diplomatic question,” said the spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Zhao Lijian, according to the news agency “AP” on Friday when asked by reporters. And went even further: “I am not aware of the situation.” According to the newspaper, it is not the first time that the ministry has denied any knowledge of the case.
USA demand evidence
The US does not see that this is not a diplomatic case. The government is now calling for clarification. “Independent and verifiable evidence of their whereabouts and safety is expected,” said the White House spokeswoman. Jen Psaki, on Friday. “We are deeply concerned about reports of tennis player Peng Shuai’s possible disappearance,” Vice Secretary of State Wendy Sherman tweeted. She also requested independent evidence of Peng’s safety. “Women around the world deserve their reports of sexual assault to be taken seriously and investigated.”
The 35-year-old world ranking player has disappeared from the scene after she made serious allegations against former Vice Prime Minister Zhang Gaoli in a post on the largest Chinese social media platform Weibo on November 2. The senior member of the ruling Communist Party forced her to have sex in his house three years ago, according to a long post. It disappeared from the network just half an hour later. Peng himself was no longer seen in public either.
The case caused horror in the tennis scene. “It’s terrible, I mean, a person has disappeared,” said top player Novak Djokovic at the ATP finals in Turin. Serena Williams said on Twitter that she was “devastated and shocked”. Steve Simon, head of the WTA Women’s Tennis Association, even threatened to completely exclude the country from tournaments, even though the association would lose hundreds of millions of dollars as a result. “It’s bigger than business. Women need to be respected, not censored”; he told “CNN”.