China Pushes Back At World Tennis Association's Concerns Over Missing Player Peng Shuai

The Chinese government is pushing back at the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) for its continued pressure on the state of champion player Peng Shuai’s safety, warning the group that it was “opening a Pandora’s Box” in its efforts to seek answers on the missing athlete’s whereabouts.

What Happened: According to a Bloomberg report, the Global Times, a newspaper backed by the Chinese Communist Party, condemned the WTA for its decision to suspend its China-based events following Peng’s disappearance from public view last month after she accused a former high-ranking Chinese government official of sexual harassment.

“The WTA has acted as a lever of Western public opinion against China’s political system,” said the Global Times in an English-language editorial that was posted as a screenshot on its Twitter Inc TWTR account but was not published in China. The newspaper also accused the organization of “radicalism” and “setting a bad example for the entire sporting world,” although the editorial did not mention Peng’s name or her place within the WTA’s actions.

In a Thursday press briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin would not comment on whether the Chinese government would pursue discussions with the WTA. Chinese state media posted several videos and pictures to Twitter reportedly showing Peng at home, with friends and at a tennis event, but China-facing social media accounts and publications continue to omit all mention of Peng.

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What Else Happened: Separately, the International Olympic Committee issued a statement that it held a second call with Peng on Wednesday, adding she “appeared to be safe and well" and it would “stay in regular touch with her.”

“We are using ‘quiet diplomacy’ which, given the circumstances and based on the experience of governments and other organizations, is indicated to be the most promising way to proceed effectively in such humanitarian matters,” the IOC said.

Photo: Claude TRUONG-NGOC/Wikimedia Commons