Share
November 21, 2021 The Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai, of whom there has been no news for days, had a video conference with Thomas Bach, president of the Olympic Committee, who made it known that she is fine and safe.
The Chinese champion had not been seen or heard from since she reported, on social media, on 2 November last, the sexual violence suffered by the former vice premier Zhang Gaoli before becoming, on and off, her lover.
Peng's claims against Zhang represent the first time that China's #MeToo movement has touched the highest echelons of the ruling Communist Party. The French foreign minister has called on the Chinese authorities to let the tennis star speak publicly to clarify what is happening to her and, if not, warned that there could be diplomatic consequences for Beijing. Following a global outcry with the membership of the United Nations and tennis superstars, Chinese state media reporters have released a barrage of footage purporting to show that all is well for Peng.
And so appears a video of the event, tweeted by the Global Times newspaper editor Hu Xijin, showing Peng standing in a stadium among a group of guests whose names are announced amidst cheers. Behind her always the man in uniform. A reporter from the Global Times tweeted another video showing Peng signing autographs for children - in what appears to be the same stadium - before posing for photos with them. Hu also posted two more videos on Saturday, the first showing Peng walking into a restaurant wearing a coat, knitted hat and mask. A prominent sign indicates Beijing Yibin Guesthouse, a popular restaurant a stone's throw from Tiananmen Square owned by the local Sichuan government. In the second,Peng sits at a table without a mask and chats with people over a meal.