Peng says she is safe
Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai
had a video call on Sunday with the president of the International Olympic
Committee and told him she was safe and well, the IOC said, after Western
governments expressed mounting concern for her well-being.
Photos and videos of Peng at a
children's tournament in Beijing published earlier in the day had done little
to quell that unease, following a nearly three-week public absence after she
alleged that a former senior Chinese official sexually assaulted her.
In a statement, the IOC said
Peng began the 30-minute call with its President Thomas Bach by thanking the
Olympic organisation for its concern.
"She explained that she is
safe and well, living at her home in Beijing, but would like to have her
privacy respected at this time," the IOC's statement said.
"That is why she prefers to
spend her time with friends and family right now. Nevertheless, she will
continue to be involved in tennis, the sport she loves so much."
France's foreign minister had
earlier called on the Chinese authorities to provide more reassurance, echoing
a statement by the Women's Tennis Association that the images of Peng at the
tournament were "insufficient" proof.
"I'm expecting only one
thing: that she speaks," France's Jean-Yves Le Drian told LCI television,
adding that there could be unspecified diplomatic consequences if China did not
clear up the situation. His office did not immediately respond to a request for
comment on the IOC's statement.
The United States and Britain
had also called for China to provide proof of Peng's whereabouts.
A handout photo posted on the
International Olympic Committee website on November 21, 2021 shows IOC
President Thomas Bach holding a video call with
Current and former tennis
players, from Naomi Osaka to Serena Williams to Billie Jean King, had joined
the calls seeking to confirm she was safe, using the social media hashtag
#WhereIsPengShuai?
World No1 Novak Djokovic said it
would be strange to hold tournaments in China unless the "horrific"
situation was resolved.
The concern over Peng came as
global rights groups and others have called for a boycott of the Winter
Olympics in Beijing in February over China's human rights record.
On November 2, Peng posted on
Chinese social media that former vice-premier Zhang Gaoli had sexually
assaulted her several years ago.
Neither Zhang nor the Chinese
government have commented on her allegation.
Peng's social media post was
quickly deleted and the topic has been blocked from discussion on China's
heavily censored internet.
Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of the
state-backed Global Times, posted a 25-second video on Twitter on Sunday that
showed Peng smiling, waving and autographing giant tennis balls for children at
the Fila Kids Junior Tennis Challenger Finals tournament.
The Global Times is published by
the People's Daily, the official newspaper of China's ruling Communist Party.
The event's official WeChat page
showed photos of her at the tournament.
Peng, 35, was the world No1
doubles player in 2014, the first Chinese player to achieve a top ranking,
after winning the doubles titles at Wimbledon in 2013 and the French Open in
2014.
On Saturday night, Peng visited
a popular restaurant in downtown Beijing, according to a video posted by Hu
that a restaurant manager confirmed to Reuters on Sunday.
Seven people including Peng were
at the Sichuanese restaurant, said the manager, Zhou Hongmei, adding that they
ate in a private room and were joined by the restaurant's owner.
"It was crowded at the
restaurant as usual," Zhou said, showing a bill that included noodles and
bamboo shoots. "They didn't have much. I think they mostly chatted."
A spokesperson for the Women's
Tennis Association, which has threatened to pull tournaments out of China, had
said earlier that the photos and video were "insufficient" and did
not address the WTA's concerns.
The International Tennis
Federation said it would continue to seek confirmation from Peng that she was
safe.
Chinese state media outlet CGTN
on Wednesday released what it said was an email Peng had sent to the WTA's
chairman denying she had been sexually assaulted.
WTA Chairman Steve Simon said he
had a hard time believing that Peng herself had written the email.