In the drama about the missing tennis player Peng Shuai, the women's tennis association WTA threatened to withdraw from China.
US President Joe Biden brings an Olympic diplomatic boycott into play
Washington / Beijing / Munich - The political drama about China's missing tennis ace Peng Shuai is drawing ever wider circles. Steve Simon, head of the WTA players' organization,
openly
threatened on Friday night on the US television channel
CNN
with a complete withdrawal of international women's tennis from China if Beijing did not shed some light on the affair. The allegations regarding Peng are "bigger than the deal," said Simon.
Also during the night, US President Joe Biden launched a so-called “diplomatic boycott” of the Winter Olympics in Beijing in February 2022. "That's something we're considering," Biden told journalists at the White House. The timing of this announcement is certainly no coincidence and should trigger a dynamic among other western countries as well. A diplomatic boycott means that no government officials from any country are sent to the games. It does not affect the athletes. Several hardliners of the Republic are calling on Biden to completely boycott the Beijing Games to protest against the oppression of the Muslim Uyghur minority in Xinjiang. Other Republican MPs and numerous Democrats, on the other hand, are calling for a diplomatic boycott.They include the Chairwoman of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi. The EU Parliament also spoke out in favor of a diplomatic boycott in the summer.
Just a few days after Biden talked to China's head of state Xi Jinping about things like oil reserves or disarmament, the geopolitical conflict is now coming to the fore again.
Meanwhile, China remains silent.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry did not want to comment on Peng Shuai's whereabouts.
Inquiries should be directed to "responsible bodies", said a spokesman.
The always over-harsh reaction to any criticism of high-ranking members of the Communist Party seems, as always, to instinctively enjoy higher priority than the country's international image.
But the silence is noticeable: Normally, official China always railed in such cases, saying it would not "interfere in internal affairs".
Not even that is currently being heard.
Only the WTA dares to confront China.
The clear positioning of the WTA is quite remarkable, because other world sports federations have repeatedly given way to China's tough stance on human rights issues in concern for their business. The International Olympic Committee IOC, for example, is demonstratively staying out of politics, for example in connection with Xinjiang. And the US basketball association NBA distanced itself in 2019 from a club manager who had shown solidarity with the protests in Hong Kong.
The threat from the WTA also carries weight. China is now an important location, especially for women’s tennis. Every year - until the outbreak of the corona pandemic - eleven WTA tournaments, some of which were top-class, took place. In 2018, the season-end tournament for the eight best players of the year from 2019 to 2028 was awarded to the Chinese city of Shenzhen and the prize money doubled from 7 million US dollars to 14 million.
In early November, Peng Shuai had accused former Vice Prime Minister Zhang Gaoli of sexual assault in a post on the Weibo social network.
Since then, the 35-year-old has not been seen in public and is considered to have disappeared.
China's censorship blocks searches for your name or #MeToo women's movement on the Chinese Internet.
The international broadcaster CGTN published an alleged email Pengs this week in which she distances herself from her own allegations.
The WTA and international experts expressed strong doubts about the authenticity of this mail.
Peng Shuai: Worldwide solidarity with the tennis player who has disappeared
Meanwhile, international solidarity with the missing double specialist is growing.
After the Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka, colleague Serena Williams also spoke up.
"I'm devastated and shocked," Williams wrote on Twitter.
“I hope she is safe and found as soon as possible.
This has to be investigated and we must not be silent. ”The former German professional player Julia Görges also expressed concern:“ We live in a world in which victims should not be silenced, ”she wrote.
“I agree with the entire tennis community that we want answers!” It is uncertain whether the pressure from abroad will make a difference in China.
(ck, with material from dpa and AFP)