Tennis: after accusing a senior politician of rape, the Chinese Peng Shuai no longer gives any sign of life

Should we be worried about Peng Shuai?

A week ago, on November 4, Chinese tenniswoman Peng Shuai accused, via her certified account on the social network Weibo (the Chinese equivalent of Twitter), the former Chinese vice-premier Zhang Gaoli of having forced her. to intercourse three years ago.

Since these revelations, as the newspaper Le Monde underlines this Thursday, the winner of the doubles at Roland Garros in 2014 has not given any sign of life.

Firm censorship and concerns around the young woman

"Such rape accusations affect for the first time a leader whose rank is so high within the CCP," writes Simon Leplâtre, correspondent for Le Monde in Shanghai.

But the total silence of the young woman since the case was made public lets fear the worst about her ”.

He also evokes the possibility, raised by several Chinese Internet users, that the player has fled China to make these revelations.

In a blog post, Chinese feminist activist Lü Pin, who lives in the United States, explained that "the words

(I hope she is safe) have sprung up on the internet, like a code."

我 将 发布 一个 关于 彭 帅 事件 的 系列 。1. 彭 帅 的 揭露 非常 重要 ， 让 人们 前所未有 地 真切 看见 当下 中国 最高 领导人 群体 的 真实 生活 一角 ， 被 权力 包裹 的 道貌 昂然 背后 ， 滥权 ， 的 的腐败 ， 以及 他们 的 恐惧 ， 一般 只是 被 想象 的 ， 正在 这么 多人 的 目睹 下 被 这么 真实 地 指 认。 为什么 家 都 知道 彭 帅 的 揭发 太 真实 了？

- 吕 频 Lü Pin (@pinerpiner) November 3, 2021

The long story of Peng Shuai (35) had spent a total of twenty minutes online on Weibo, enough to be seen, read and shared by thousands of Internet users. It was then censored on the social network, as well as the word "tennis" or any theme that could create debate around the story of the champion. Usual censorship for the #MeToo movement in China, firmly muzzled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

“Everything is under surveillance and censored even before being sent,” Lü Pin added on Twitter.

So we can imagine that many #MeToo voices cannot be heard at all.

The bar for speaking out is very high today, but #MeToo is constantly crossing the barrier of censorship (...) But censorship only reveals the fear of senior Chinese leaders, a fear that would not have been than imaginary but which is now staged by reducing to silence and in a few voices the voices that rise up against them, in full view and in the knowledge of all.

Peng Shui's testimony is crucial.

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