Enlarge image
Peng Shuai during a match in 2017
Photo: ADRIAN DENNIS / AFP
The Chinese government is looking for an end to the controversy surrounding tennis player Peng Shuai, who has been missing for a long time.
"Some people should end their malicious allegations and not politicize this matter," Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said in response to questions from the press in Beijing on Tuesday.
He pointed out that the 35-year-old did some activities in public.
The spokesman also mentioned the video call with the President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach.
"We hope that the relevant pages will stop fraudulently exaggerating the matter."
In early November, Peng Shuai published allegations of sexual assault by former Chinese Vice Prime Minister Zhang Gaoli on the Weibo social network.
The censors intervened immediately, deleted their mail and since then has prevented any discussion on China's Internet.
The player was also initially not seen in public, which worried the international tennis world.
The IOC announced on Sunday that Bach had made a video call with the tennis player.
She said she was safe.
It remained open whether her #MeToo allegations or possible pressure from Chinese authorities on the 35-year-old were addressed.
According to the IOC, she said she was living well in her Beijing home and that her privacy should be respected.
The video switch triggered criticism that the IOC had acted as a willing aid to the Chinese system.
The Global Athlete sports association accused the IOC of "complicity in the vicious propaganda of the Chinese authorities and their lack of interest in basic human rights and justice."
WTA: »This video doesn't change anything«
The Association of Professional Tennis Players (WTA) also said, despite the video call: "This video does not change our demand for a complete, fair and transparent investigation of your allegation of sexual assault without censorship," said the players' association.
Because this topic had only triggered "our initial concern".
The affair about the world-class doubles player brings the IOC just under two and a half months before the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing (February 4th to 20th) in dire straits.
China is already under criticism for violating human rights.
svs / sid / Reuters / dpa