Peng Shuai case: Internet images add even more confusion
In the "Peng Shuai case", photos of the Chinese tennis player that appeared on the Internet increased confusion about the situation of the former world number one in doubles who had disappeared from the public.
by SID
last edit:
Nov 20, 2021, 11:54 am
On the pictures posted on Twitter by a "shen_shiwei" account marked as a "state-bound medium", the 35-year-old can be seen demonstratively satisfied in various poses. According to a newspaper of the ruling Communist Party, Peng will appear in public as soon as possible.
On the four undated images that have been circulating on the Internet since late Friday evening, Peng is apparently happy to see. In one photo, the former top 20 player has a cat in her arms smiling in front of a Chinese national flag and surrounded by soft toys and a trophy. In another photo, Peng poses in front of a picture of the Winnie Pooh bear figure, which is often censored in China because of a frequent comparison with state and party leader Xi Jinping. The account operator left a request from the French news agency AFP about the authenticity of the images unanswered.
In the clarification of Peng's fate after allegations of abuse against a former top party official, the highest positions had recently intervened after several prominent tennis stars were called. Both the White House of US President Joe Biden and the United Nations demanded clarity about the whereabouts of the two-time winner of a WTA tournament. For the WTA players' association, director Steve Simon did not rule out a withdrawal of the WTA tournaments from China without verifiable information about Peng's whereabouts, despite a threatened loss of several hundred million dollars: "This is bigger than business. Women must be respected and not censored will."
Doubts about the authenticity of Peng's mail
At the beginning of the month, Peng publicly denounced sexual abuse by former Vice Prime Minister Zhang Gaoli on the Twitter-like medium Weibo. The entry, however, as well as numerous Internet entries about the double specialist, were deleted, while there has been no trace of Peng since then. There are serious doubts about the authenticity of an email sent by Chinese state media with reassuring words from Peng.
Allegedly, however, the player is expected to return to the public. "She will soon appear in public," wrote columnist Hu Xijin of the party newspaper Global Times on Twitter, "and take part in some activities."