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The 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing is meant to showcase world-class athletes. Instead, the world is getting a sickening glimpse into the inner workings of the Chinese Communist Party and its efforts to paper over whatever reflects poorly on the regime. It’s difficult for China to hide its sins while under the white-hot spotlight brought on by the games, and that includes the mysterious recent disappearance and reappearance of the three-time Olympic Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai. On Nov. 2, Peng used a social media post to accuse vice-premier of the Chinese Communist Party, Zhang Gaoli, of forcing her to...

Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai has denied she ever accused anyone of sexual assault, adding that she herself had deleted her social media post in November that had appeared to make such a claim. The well-being of Peng, a three-time Olympian, became a matter of global concern when she appeared to allege on social media that a former Chinese vice premier, Zhang Gaoli, had sexually assaulted her in the past. In an interview with French newspaper L'Equipe at a hotel in Beijing, Peng denied she had made such allegations.

Andrew Beatty @AndrewBeatty #BREAKING @AFP (Melbourne) The Australian Open is reversing its ban on 'Where is Peng Shuai' tee shirts, tournament chief Craig Tiley tells @AFP

Officials back down after being charged of “kowtowing to China” to please sponsors.. Forty Eight hours after demanding that spectators at the Australian Open remove clothing and hand over signs protesting China’s Communist government, officials have reversed course and said that the garments will be allowed, with a caveat. As we reported yesterday, the shirts and banner read “Where is Peng Shuai?”, referring to the previous disappearance of the Chinese tennis star who had accused a high ranking CCP official of sexually assaulting her. After not being seen for weeks, Shuai reappeared looking worse for wear and immediately retracted the...

Another tennis controversy emerges in Australia and this has nothing to do with the pandemic.It has been a common expression when watching the news out of Australia that the country has become a lost cause when it comes to personal freedoms. The government in panic mode, or eyeing an opportunity at more oppression, has put on a stunning display of oppression in the name of public safety. Videos of people being arrested over masks are just the start; there have been manhunts for vaccine scofflaws and internment camps set up for those denying the chance to get vaccinated.This extended to...

Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai said on Dec. 19 that she had never accused anyone of sexually assaulting her, and that her post on social media had been misunderstood.In a six-minute interview with Singapore’s pro-Beijing Chinese-language media Lianhe Zaobao, Peng said she was not under house arrest and her posts were misunderstood.On Nov. 2, Peng, 35, posted on Chinese social media Weibo that China’s ex-vice premier, Zhang Gaoli, 75, with the help of his wife, forced her to have sex with him. Peng’s posts were removed from the internet shortly after, before she disappeared from the public eye for nearly...

A global social media movement asking #WhereIsPengShuai has yet to find convincing answers. The Chinese tennis star and Grand Slam Doubles Champion Peng Shuai disappeared after she publicly accused a former vice premier of China of sexually assaulting her. The social media posts in which she made the accusation were removed within 20 minutes of posting. But Peng's fans were faster than Chinese censors, saving her posts and demanding answers about her disappearance. Since then, Peng has been seen in what looks like staged appearances. Once at a restaurant and tennis event, and once in a video call with the...

Although Peng Shuai’s story has sex and sports, making it media fodder, a more significant person vanished from view in 2018—and no one seems to care. Much media coverage has been devoted to Peng Shuai, a Chinese women’s tennis player, whom her Communist Chinese government apparently “disappeared.” However, the head of Interpol disappeared too, and that deserves more attention. Because Peng was an international figure and used social media to claim a “high-ranking government official” in China sexually assaulted her, the media was eager to cover her disappearance—mostly because of the political popularity and sensitivity to the #MeToo movement. After...

After the Chinese government and the International Olympic Committee announced that tennis player Peng Shuai is (allegedly) safe, the World Tennis Association has announced that it will suspend tournaments in China.Steve Simon, WTA chairman & CEO, issued a statement on Wednesday afternoon.He said, in part:When on November 2, 2021, Peng Shuai posted an allegation of sexual assault against a top Chinese government official, the Women’s Tennis Association recognized that Peng Shuai’s message had to be listened to and taken seriously. The players of the WTA, not to mention women around the world, deserve nothing less.From that moment forward, Peng Shuai...

If not for international tennis stars and the World Tennis Association’s courage, we probably would never see Chinese tennis star and doubles champion Peng Shuai again.With less than three months until the Beijing Olympic Games, Chinese tennis star and doubles champion Peng Shuai alleged in a social media post that the former vice premier of China, Zhang Gaoli, had sexually assaulted her. Since a shroud of secrecy usually covers senior Chinese Communist Party leaders’ private lives, Peng’s detailed allegation exposed the darkness of China’s most powerful men.The CCP initially responded with its typically heavy hand, forcefully “disappearing” Peng physically and...

The leader of the Women's Tennis Association said he is willing to pull out of China if missing Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai is not accounted for.Steve Simon, chairman and CEO of the WTA, said business interests should not get in the way of doing "what's right," alluding to a willingness to end business ties with the country over Shuai's disappearance unless Chinese officials provide proof she is safe."We're definitely willing to pull our business and deal with all the complications that come with it," Simon told CNN on Thursday. "This is bigger than the business."

WASHINGTON -- President Joe Biden said Thursday that the United States was considering a diplomatic boycott of next year's Winter Olympics in Beijing over China's human rights abuses, a move that would keep American dignitaries, but not athletes, from the Games. Speaking to reporters as he hosted Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the Oval Office, Biden said backing a boycott of the Olympics in February is "something we're considering."

The head of the Women’s Tennis Association cast doubt Wednesday on the veracity of an email attributed to Peng Shuai, the Chinese athlete who hasn’t been seen publicly since a post on her social media account made allegations of sexual assault against a former top official in the Chinese Communist Party. Association chairman Steve Simon said in a statement that the email, which was sent to his organization and published by a verified Twitter feed of China’s state-owned English-language satellite news channel, only raised his “concerns about her safety and whereabouts.”

PENG SHUAI and CCP OFFICIAL ZHANG GAO LI When one thinks of no-nonsense, hard-nosed sports, tennis isn’t going to be the first that comes to mind. Nevertheless, it is tennis, specifically the WTA, presently making a stand against China, the likes of which neither the NBA nor the IOC would ever consider.The focal point for this standoff is Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai. Shuai, who has won two Grand Slam doubles titles, has not been seen since making a sexual assault allegation on November second against former senior Chinese Communist Party official Zhang Gaoli. As reported by The Age:In her...