Peng Shuai’s fate remains unclear

It took exactly 20 minutes for the authorities to delete Peng Shuai’s post on the Chinese X-equivalent Weibo, because the message was quite something. China’s previously celebrated tennis star Peng wrote in early November 2021 that she had had an extraordinary relationship with former Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli. Three years earlier, in 2018, the former top politician had also forced her to perform sexual acts as part of the relationship.

Sexual affairs of top Chinese politicians are extremely socially explosive. When they become known, they often provoke malice and criticism from ordinary Chinese people towards those in power in Beijing. Sexual abuse by politicians can even lead to protests against the regime. It is no wonder that as soon as Peng’s Weibo post was published, she disappeared from public view. The government wanted to silence the tennis player.

Nothing was initially known about Peng’s fate. When a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry was asked on November 3, 2021, where the former number one in the doubles world rankings was, he replied laconically: “I have not heard anything about this matter, this is not a diplomatic question.”

China’s Tennis Association responded only briefly

A few days later, the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) intervened. Concerned about Peng’s whereabouts, WTA Chairman Steve Simon called on the Chinese authorities to stop the censorship of the Peng Shuai case and to investigate Peng’s accusations. The Chinese state tennis association responded with a brief statement: Peng was unharmed.

The claims cannot be verified. To date, no WTA representative has managed to make direct contact with Peng. Peng Shuai has not appeared in public since, apart from a few apparently staged appearances.

In scandals such as that involving Peng Shuai, winner of two Grade Slam doubles titles, the government usually follows the same pattern. The person or persons involved are sentenced to withdraw completely from public life. Sometimes the main characters are even pacified with money.

In December 2021, the Women’s Tennis Association decided not to hold any more tournaments in China for the time being. The association explicitly justified the decision with the uncertainty about Peng Shuai’s fate. “The issue is bigger than business,” WTA boss Simon said at the time.

But shortly after China ended its zero-Covid policy in January 2023, the association gave in. The prospect of big money was too tempting. Before the pandemic, the WTA tournaments in China attracted prize money of $28 million. Added to this is the economic potential of the large Chinese market.

Last year, a WTA 1000 tournament was held in Beijing again, and this week it is also taking place; smaller tournaments are taking place regularly in China again. “We have come to the conclusion that we will never fully achieve the goals,” the WTA stated in April 2023. “And it will be our players who will ultimately pay an extraordinary price for their sacrifices.”

China’s government became nervous

In addition to concerns about possible popular protests against the way Peng was treated, the Chinese government was also nervous about China’s image abroad soon after the case began. In the meantime, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights had also become involved in the fall. The Winter Olympics were due to begin in Beijing in February 2022. China wanted to present itself as a cosmopolitan sports nation.

As a result, Peng Shuai had to be dragged into the public eye because Beijing wanted to allay any concerns abroad. In mid-November 2021, the English-language Chinese state broadcaster CGTN presented an email that Peng allegedly wrote to WTA boss Simon. She was resting at home, the message said, and there was nothing to the allegations of sexual abuse she had previously made.

The phrase “resting at home” is a common phrase used by the Chinese government to explain the sudden disappearance of politicians, business people or even sports stars. Jack Ma, the charismatic founder and former CEO of the tech group Alibaba, was also said to be resting at home shortly after his sudden resignation from his position as CEO.

Beijing launched a PR offensive

In order to reassure the world public in the run-up to the Winter Olympics, Beijing launched a PR offensive. In the weeks that followed, photos and videos of Peng Shuai appeared in the state media. They showed her visiting restaurants or playing with children. Interviews followed, including in the Singaporean newspaper “Lianhe Zaobao” and the French sports newspaper “L’Equipe”. Everything was supposed to appear as normal as possible.

But the interviews were clearly controlled by Chinese authorities, because Peng kept repeating the same sentences: There was no sexual abuse. And she is doing fine. If that were really the case, Peng Shuai would certainly have been seen in public at some point.