The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) is willing to pull the plug on its business in China – worth hundreds of millions of US dollars – if Chinese star player Peng Shuai’s whereabouts are not fully accounted for and her sexual assault allegations are not properly investigated, according to its head Steve Simon. “We’re at a crossroads with our relationship, obviously, with China and operating our business over there,” he told CNN in an interview on Thursday. “We’ve had a lot of success over there. I think when you look at this, though, there’s too many times in our world today when we get into issues like this that we let business, politics, money dictate what’s right and what’s wrong.” Following the interview, CNN reported that its signal had been blocked in China on Friday to prevent further reports on the case being broadcast in the country. The WTA has been growing its presence in China, signing a 10-year deal in 2018 to relocate its finals from Singapore to Shenzhen, which Simon, the tour’s chairman and chief executive, described as a “US$1 billion dollar commitment” to the WTA. But Simon threatened to take its business elsewhere, which could mean cancelling 10 events scheduled for 2022 including the WTA Finals. “We’re definitely willing to pull our business and deal with all the complications that come with it, because this is certainly, this is bigger than the business,” he said. “Women need to be respected and not censored.” According to the CNN report, Simon said the Chinese Tennis Association had “provided assurances Peng was unharmed in Beijing”, but attempts to reach her directly had failed. “We have reached out to her on every phone number and email address and other forms of contact,” he said. “To date we still have not been able to get a response.” Peng, one of China’s most famous sports figures, has disappeared from the public eye since she posted her accusations on Weibo on November 2. China’s missing #MeToo and labour activist pair held by police, family told She alleged that a former high-ranking Chinese official had pressured her into having sex in 2019, and that she had had sexual encounters with him over a 10-year period that ended in October. The post, which contained a detailed account of the 35-year-old tennis player’s relationship with the former leader, immediately sent shock waves through China’s internet. However, it was deleted in less than 30 minutes and mentions of the scandal, as well as screenshots of Peng’s original post, were quickly censored across the nation’s social media platforms. Government officials have also avoided questions about the allegations. Asked about them the day after Peng’s post, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said they were not foreign affairs matters. On Friday, the foreign ministry said it was not aware of the controversy, while Zhao Lijian, another ministry spokesman, told reporters that the matter was “not a diplomatic question and I’m not aware of the situation”. But Peng’s profile extends far beyond China – she has won doubles titles at both Wimbledon and the French Open – and her case has attracted international attention. As of Friday afternoon, there were more than 64,600 posts about Peng Shuai on Twitter. On Friday, the United Nations Human Rights Office also joined the call for information about Peng. “It would be important to have proof of her whereabouts and well-being and we would urge that there be an investigation with full transparency into her allegations of sexual assault,” Liz Throssell, a spokeswoman for UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet’s office, told reporters in Geneva. Chinese court rejects landmark #MeToo claim against TV host The WTA has issued two previous statements calling for a “full, transparent investigation” into Peng’s allegations, and raising concerns about Chinese state media sharing an email purportedly written by the tennis champion which Simon said he “had a hard time believing” was from her. The email said Peng’s allegations of sexual assault were “untrue” and that she was neither missing nor unsafe. In contrast to many of the reactions globally, Hu Xijin, the editor-in-chief of nationalist tabloid Global Times , tweeted that he doubted Peng had been punished by authorities. “As a person who is familiar with Chinese system, I don’t believe Peng Shuai has received retaliation and repression speculated by foreign media for the thing people talked about,” he wrote. Many high-profile tennis players, including Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka, have expressed shock and worry over Peng’s disappearance, and shared posts with the hashtag #WhereIsPengShuai. American former world No 1 tennis player Chris Evert said that she had known Peng since she was 14 and that the allegations were “very disturbing”. I am devastated and shocked to hear about the news of my peer, Peng Shuai. I hope she is safe and found as soon as possible. This must be investigated and we must not stay silent. Sending love to her and her family during this incredibly difficult time. #whereispengshuai pic.twitter.com/GZG3zLTSC6 — Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) November 18, 2021 . #WhereIsPengShuai pic.twitter.com/51qcyDtzLq — NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@naomiosaka) November 16, 2021 Yes, these accusations are very disturbing. I’ve known Peng since she was 14; we should all be concerned; this is serious; where is she? Is she safe? Any information would be appreciated. https://t.co/RH0aYCDqQm — Chris Evert (@ChrissieEvert) November 14, 2021 Human rights groups have also weighed in. Chinese Human Rights Defenders, a network of Chinese and international human rights non-governmental organisations, issued a statement on Wednesday reacting to the purported email released by state-run broadcaster CGTN. “Peng Shuai’s latest statement – released through state media – should not be taken at face value,” spokesman William Nee said. “The Chinese government has a long history of arbitrarily detaining people involved in controversial cases, controlling their ability to speak freely, and making them give forced statements.” Meanwhile, the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China , a group of Western lawmakers who have vowed to “adopt a tougher stance on the Chinese Communist Party”, said on Friday that it was “deeply concerned for the safety and well-being” of Peng, and repeated calls for a full diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics next February. Court delays second hearing in landmark #MeToo case for China US President Joe Biden revealed on Thursday that he was considering such a boycott over China’s suspected human rights abuses against Uygurs and other ethnic minority groups in Xinjiang . Rana Mitter, a China specialist at Oxford University, said short-term censorship would not be enough to stem the tide of domestic and international criticism. “At home, China’s MeToo movement still remains an important criticism of attitudes toward gender that the Peng Shuai case embodies, and internationally, the sports world will find it hard to celebrate an upcoming Olympics if a prominent sports celebrity has gone missing,” he said. Fu King-wa, a professor at the University of Hong Kong’s Journalism and Media Studies Centre, said he expected the saga would continue, citing mounting international pressure from sports celebrities and the inconvenient timing for Beijing with the Winter Olympics fast approaching. Beyond censorship, he said, “the authorities want to control the public narrative”. Additional reporting by Agence-France Presse
