Peng Shuai
Peng Shuai Meets IOC Leader at Winter Olympics
Peng Shuai, the Chinese tennis player who largely disappeared from public life after making sexual abuse accusations against a political official in November, held a private meeting with Thomas Bach, the president of the International Olympic Committee, in Beijing over the weekend. The two had dinner on Saturday at the Olympic Club and were joined […]
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Peng Shuai, Chinese Tennis Player, Denies Sexual Assault Claim
Peng Shuai, the Chinese tennis star whose account of sexual coercion by a former Communist Party leader ignited weeks of tensions and galvanized calls for boycotts of the Winter Olympics in Beijing, has reversed her assertion that she had been sexually assaulted by the official. Ms. Peng made the comments in an interview that was […]
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A Diplomatic Boycott of the Winter Olympics Isn’t Enough
The decision by President Biden to have his administration steer clear of the Beijing Winter Olympics is not enough. With the Games two months away and the host country’s ugly record on human rights well in view once again, more needs to be done to send China a message that it operates outside the bounds […]
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United States Will Not Send Government Officials to Beijing Olympics
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration will not send any American government officials to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, making official a diplomatic boycott to pressure China for human rights abuses. Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, said that while American athletes would be able to compete in the Winter Games in Beijing, there […]
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How WTA Chief Steve Simon Took on China Over Peng Shuai
Simon’s refusal to accept China’s authoritarian stance on human rights once it directly affected one of his players stands in stark contrast to several high-profile leaders in sports who have repeatedly bent to the desires of the Chinese, including Adam Silver, the commissioner of the N.B.A., and Thomas Bach, the president of the International Olympic […]
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IOC Says It Held Second Video Call With Peng Shuai
The International Olympic Committee said Thursday that it had held a second call with the Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai, trying anew to deflect criticism of its light-touch approach to China only months before the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing. “We share the same concern as many other people and organizations about the well-being and […]
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WTA Suspends Tournaments in China Over Treatment of Peng Shuai
The women’s professional tennis tour announced Wednesday that it was immediately suspending all tournaments in China, including Hong Kong, in response to the disappearance from public life of the tennis star Peng Shuai after she accused a top Communist Party leader of sexual assault. The move, a groundbreaking shift in how major sports organizations deal […]
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China’s Silence on Peng Shuai Shows Limits of Beijing’s Propaganda
When the Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai accused a former top leader of sexual assault earlier this month, the authorities turned to a tried-and-true strategy. At home, the country’s censors scrubbed away any mention of the allegations. Abroad, a few state-affiliated journalists focused narrowly on trying to quash concerns about Ms. Peng’s safety. Beijing seems […]
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Peng Shuai’s Accusation Pierced the Privileged Citadel of Chinese Politics
Before Zhang Gaoli was engulfed in accusations that he had sexually assaulted a tennis champion, he seemed to embody the qualities that the Chinese Communist Party prizes in officials: austere, disciplined, and impeccably loyal to the leader of the day. He had climbed steadily from running an oil refinery to a succession of leadership posts […]
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