It was almost exactly a month ago that tennis player Peng Shuai’s thoughts flowed unfiltered into the free world for the last time. And whether this world will ever experience a freely cherished thought of this woman again, one can now hardly doubt.
Peng’s post, which she posted on the Chinese Internet on November 2nd, was 1,600 words long, regardless of the consequences. He survived the censorship for 30 minutes. Lots of words, razor-sharp like broken glass. In it, Peng describes how she had an affair with Zhang Gaoli, China’s early vice-premier, apparently amicable for years. Until Zhang abused the tennis player three years ago, so Peng’s allegation.
“I should never have set foot on this earth,” wrote Peng. She is a “bad girl”. A river of doubts and accusations, as is so often the case with victims of sexual violence: “You played with me and when you no longer wanted to, you threw me away.” They have no evidence, says Peng, “just the real experience of the bent, ruined self.”
And then another sentence, poetic, hurt and threatening at the same time: “Even if I am like an egg that throws itself against a rock, a moth that races towards a flame and drives its own destruction – I will still be the truth say about us. “
That is the background against which everything has been interpreted for weeks: Peng’s disappearance in the days after, the outcry on social networks. The reactions of tennis professionals, associations, governments. China’s sharp counterattack, the wax-soft whitewashers from the International Olympic Committee, who have been waving through the worst human rights violations in the country for years, want to hold their winter games in Beijing in two months despite everything, as a celebration of humanity. Peng’s appearance, loud pictures and videos, on which she convulsively asserts her well-being.
And then there is now this extraordinary step by the WTA, the association of all professional tennis players. Because Peng has still not received a credible sign of life, free from pressure and censorship, the association announced on Wednesday evening that the ten WTA tournaments in China will be suspended until further notice. A boycott of a multi-million dollar sports market, very simple. Very easily?
Anyone who disregards human rights must expect consequences – this message reads much more naturally than it is in organized sport. When it comes to business, officials rarely care about humanity, from football in Qatar to the European Games in Azerbaijan and Belarus. Until recently, the WTA had at least tolerated one of its most important business partners in the country interning people in camps and suppressing aspirations for freedom, among other things. It took an athlete who was torn from an athletic society before WTA boss Steve Simon spread such messages as now: “If powerful people can suppress the voices of women and sweep allegations of sexual assault under the carpet, the basis would be who founded the WTA – equal treatment for women – suffered a serious setback. “
Is Peng Shuai a prisoner in his own land forever?
(Photo: Mark Schiefelbein / dpa)
The praise with which the WTA was showered afterwards was enormous. The American Billie Jean King, an icon of equality and founder of the WTA, wrote on Twitter that the women’s tour was once again “on the right side of history”. The 18-time Grand Slam winner Martina Navratilova praised the “courageous attitude” of the WTA, which puts principles above business. World number one Novak Djokovic, incidentally founder of the PTPA players’ association, supported the move “fully – because we do not have enough information about Peng Shuai and her well-being. This is about the life of a tennis player, so we have to stand together as a tennis community”.
The American Andy Roddick, also number one in the world, raised another interesting thought. “There are still a lot of sports associations and organizations,” he wrote on Twitter, “that can do a lot more than the WTA.”
The IOC is suddenly concerned too. No wonder, as exposed as the circle of rings suddenly is
And with it a swivel to the IOC. That also issued a message on Thursday morning that could safely be understood as a reaction to the WTA – as exposed as the ring circle was now. Thomas Bach, the German President of the IOC, had tried in the past few weeks to stifle any criticism of the upcoming Olympic host: on November 21, he had phoned Peng, then barely published any details, just assured him that it was Peng obviously go well and one should respect their privacy. In other words, just what had previously spilled abroad from the Chinese media.
Until recently, the IOC peddled the view that Peng was by no means under duress in the video calls. Then, on Thursday, the organization suddenly claimed that they had conferred with Peng again the day before. Suddenly there was no longer any talk of well-being – instead, they were “worried” and had assured the player “far-reaching support”. Where did the change of heart come from? Not a word about it. Not even whether Peng’s allegations have finally been addressed – with the player or the authorities with whom the IOC allegedly conducts “quiet diplomacy”. What a resounding success this can have was shown by Bach’s first, not so quiet phone call with Peng: During this, he had himself photographed and experienced a “relaxed” athlete.
How well do you have to be to believe such statements? From an athlete living in a dictatorship that repeatedly coerces unpleasant people? From a woman who had just lamented in 1,600 furious words how much she was riding herself into destruction? And who will probably be a prisoner in her own country for the rest of her life, like the portal China Change now wrote?
And China itself?
Silence the day after the WTA decision. Not a word in the newspapers or on the radio. No news on state television evening news. The Beijing Foreign Office spokesman managed to get a single sentence from the daily press conference: “We are firmly against the fact that the sport is politicized,” he said.
In the early evening the state then spreads Global Times a statement from the Chinese Tennis Association in English only, on Twitter and Facebook only; both services are blocked in the People’s Republic. The association is outraged. It was a “unilateral decision by the women’s tennis association”. If you call the association and ask for the press department, they hang up immediately.
Censorship is even more brutal on the Internet. The name “Peng Shuai” is still blocked, if you search for “tennis” or “WTA”, you will receive an error message. In the short term, the expression of opinion of a user is visible, who instead of WTA has introduced the pretty description of the “women ping pong association that plays beyond the table”. He praised: “You can only say they have a strong backbone.” A little later this entry is also deleted.
If you visit the Sichuan restaurant in Beijing, where Peng Shuai met alleged friends for dinner at the end of November, the police vehicles immediately attract attention. Eight pieces. You are standing on the sidewalk at the intersection, and you have even parked one of the cars in the narrow alley in front of the restaurant. Hardly any other place in China is currently better guarded.
Someone had recorded a table conversation with their smartphone on the evening of dinner, and the video was later distributed abroad. A man could be heard in it, he was tangled up, then he said that tomorrow would be November 20th, whereupon a woman immediately corrected him, no, November 21st was the actual date of the next day. Peng Shuai listened to him, remained silent, and nodded. Like in a blackmail video when the hostage has to pose with the morning paper.