WTA threatens to pull tournaments out of China over Peng Shuai's whereabouts

BEIJING • An outcry over the whereabouts of tennis star Peng Shuai escalated yesterday as the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) said it was prepared to pull its tournaments out of China if they were not satisfied with the response to her sexual assault allegation.

Chinese doubles player Peng, formerly ranked top in the world, has not been seen or heard from publicly since she said on Chinese social media on Nov 2 that former vice-premier Zhang Gaoli coerced her into sex and they later had an on-off consensual relationship.

Ms Peng's Weibo post was quickly deleted and the topic has been blocked from discussion on China's heavily censored Internet.

The United Nations said it wants proof of Ms Peng's whereabouts.

"It would be important to have proof of her whereabouts and well-being and we would urge that there be an investigation with full transparency into her allegations of sexual assault," UN Human Rights Office spokesman Liz Throssell said yesterday.

Concern among the global tennis community has grown over Ms Peng's safety and whereabouts since her allegation, with the WTA calling for an investigation and the world's top players, including Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka, tweeting #WhereIsPengShuai.

WTA chief executive Steve Simon told various US media outlets on Thursday that the tour would consider pulling tournaments worth millions of dollars out of China.

"We're definitely willing to pull our business and deal with all the complications that come with it," he told CNN in an interview. "Because this is certainly, this is bigger than the business. Women need to be respected and not censored."

Mr Hu Xijin, the editor of the Global Times, published by the ruling Communist Party's People's Daily, weighed in on the scandal on Twitter yesterday, saying he did not believe she had been the target of retribution.

Responding to Mr Simon, he tweeted: "Don't use a coercive tone when expressing any concern to China... As a person who is familiar with the Chinese system, I don't believe Peng Shuai has received retaliation and repression speculated by foreign media for the thing people talked about."

The issue has emerged as China prepares to host the Winter Olympics in Beijing in February amid calls from global rights groups and others for a boycott over its human rights record.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said it would not comment on the matter. "Experience shows that quiet diplomacy offers the best opportunity to find a solution for questions of such nature," an IOC spokesman said.

On Wednesday, Mr Simon cast doubt on an e-mail, which was also released by a Chinese state media outlet on Twitter, purporting to be from Ms Peng and denying the allegations of sexual assault.

"I have a hard time believing that Peng Shuai actually wrote the e-mail we received or believes what is being attributed to her," he said.

By yesterday, the hashtag #WhereIsPengShuai had racked up over 32 million mentions on Instagram, also blocked in China, and Twitter, according to hashtag analysis website BrandMentions.

The topic remains heavily censored in China's cyberspace. Ms Peng's name on Weibo continues to yield no search results.

REUTERS