Beijing warns against ‘politicising’ sport after WTA pulls out of China over Peng Shuai case
- WTA chief Steve Simon says ‘I don’t see how I can ask our athletes to compete in China’ as concerns for former champion’s welfare grow following sexual assault claim
- International Olympic Committee holds second video call with star and defends ‘quiet diplomacy’ after being hit by backlash
Wang Wenbin, a spokesman for the ministry, responded to the withdrawal, which includes tournaments in Hong Kong, by saying: “We’ve already expressed our view. We’ve always been against behaviours politicising sports.”
The WTA’s chief executive Steve Simon said in a statement on Wednesday the organisation had been left with no choice and demanded verifiable proof that the former French Open and Wimbledon doubles champion was safe. He also called on Beijing to fully investigate her accusations.
“In good conscience, I don’t see how I can ask our athletes to compete [in China] when Peng Shuai is not allowed to communicate freely and has seemingly been pressured to contradict her allegation of sexual assault,” Steve Simon, the WTA’s chairman and chief executive, said in a statement overnight.
“Given the current state of affairs, I am also greatly concerned about the risks that all of our players and staff could face if we were to hold events in China in 2022.”
Meanwhile, the International Olympic Committee, which has already been criticised for saying it was satisfied Peng was safe after a video call between the tennis star and IOC chief Thomas Bach, said a second conversation had taken place.
“We share the same concern as many other people and organisations about the well-being and safety of Peng Shuai. This is why, just yesterday, an IOC team held another video call with her,” said an IOC statement on Thursday.
“We have offered her wide-ranging support, will stay in regular touch with her, and have already agreed on a personal meeting in January.”
Beijing will host the 2022 Winter Olympics in February and the IOC has been accused of trying to avoid upsetting the Chinese authorities amid growing international pressure over Peng’s case.
Before the call with Bach on November 21, she appeared in a number of photos and videos circulated by Chinese state media.
Neither video call has been made public and the IOC said Peng’s claim that she was safe and well in the video call on November 21 was “reconfirmed” in Tuesday call.
The IOC also defended its approach in the statement, saying it was using “quiet diplomacy” in order to “proceed effectively in such humanitarian matters.”
So far no other international sports organisation has adopted the WTA’s approach.
China hosted 19 WTA tournaments in 2019 which offered a total of US$30.4 million prize money.
While there have been no tournaments in the country since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, the organisation had signed a deal to host the WTA Finals in Shenzhen until 2030.
EU calls for ‘independent and verifiable proof’ of Peng Shuai’s whereabouts
The southern Chinese city hosted the season finale for the first time in 2019 with a US$14 million prize purse.
The state-owned tabloid Global Times tweeted on Thursday that the Chinese Tennis Association had expressed “firm indignation and firm opposition” to the decision, which was based on “fictitious information”.
“It not only beset and hurt the relevant athlete herself, but also will severely harm the female tennis players’ fair opportunities to compete,” the CTA said, according to Global Times.
The WTA said its board members gave full support to its decision, and many tennis stars also gave it their backing.
“I applaud Steve Simon and the WTA leadership for taking a strong stand on defending human rights in China and around the world,” said Billie Jean King, the multiple former grand slam winner and long-time campaigner for gender equality.
“The WTA is on the right side of history in supporting our players. This is another reason why women’s tennis is the leader in women’s sports.”
02:22
Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai disappears after online post alleging senior official sexual assault
“We don’t have enough information and I think it’s a very bold, very courageous stance from WTA,” he told reporters at the Davis Cup in Madrid on Wednesday, adding Peng’s health was of the “utmost importance to the world of tennis”.
Another former champion, Martina Navratilova, said in a tweet the WTA had taken “a brave stance” and suggested the IOC “take note”.
In early November Peng, 35, accused a former high-ranking Chinese official of pressuring her into sex in a social media post that was soon deleted.
According to the WTA, the senior official at the centre of the sexual assault allegation is former vice-premier Zhang Gaoli, 75. Neither Zhang nor the Chinese government have commented on the allegation.
There was also blanket silence about the WTA’s decision in Chinese media or social media.
Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai ‘appears at youth sporting event’
However, it was possible to access its statement via a link to the WTA on the Chinese Tennis Association’s own website.
A Global Times editorial criticised the WTA for putting on “an exaggerated show” and said it would not suffer an economic loss because the tournaments cannot be held in China due to the pandemic.
The editorial, however, was only posted on Twitter,which is banned in mainland China, and it could not be found on its Chinese social media accounts.
