Where Is Peng Shuai? Tennis Players and Fans Still Want to Know

But Chinese television did not broadcast the women’s tournaments in 2022 that were played ahead of the Open despite owning the rights. It is unclear whether this constitutes a boycott. In 2019, CCTV stopped airing N.B.A. games after Daryl Morey, the general manager of the Houston Rockets at the time, expressed support for pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong. No events for the WTA or ATP, the professional men’s tennis tour, have been held in China since early 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic, which had shut down international sports events…

Peng Shuai appearance fails to address concerns for her wellbeing, says WTA

The Women’s Tennis Association has reiterated its call for an investigation into the welfare of Peng Shuai and said a public appearance by the Chinese star on Sunday still did not address its concerns about her wellbeing. On Sunday Peng said a message she had posted on Weibo, China’s Twitter-like platform, in early November in which she accused the former vice-premier Zhang Gaoli of sexual assault had been “misunderstood”. “First, I need to stress one point that is extremely important: I have never said or written that anyone has sexually…

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 published on Sunday by a Singaporean newspaper. But the retraction appeared unlikely to extinguish concerns about her well-being and suspicions that she had been the target of well-honed pressure techniques and a propaganda campaign by…

Peng Shuai retracts sexual assault claims as fears over wellbeing persist

The Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai has denied that she had accused a former senior official of having sexually assaulted her, in what is believed to be the first foreign press interview since her November essay caused a media storm. “I wanted to make this very clear: I have never claimed, or written about anyone having sexually assaulted me,” Peng said. “With regards to Weibo, it’s about my personal privacy … There’s been a lot of misunderstanding … There [should be] no distorted interpretation.” The claim apparently contradicted a 2…

U.S. Olympic Leader: Peng Shuai’s Sexual Assault Charge Must Be Investigated

With seven weeks to go before the start of the Winter Olympics in Beijing, leaders of the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee criticized China’s handling of the recent allegations of sexual assault from one of its star athletes. China’s treatment of the three-time Olympian Peng Shuai, one of China’s top tennis players, has become a contentious issue since Nov. 2, when Peng accused a former top government official of sexually assaulting her. Little has been heard from her since. “I think this is a sad situation,” Susanne Lyons, chair…

Outspoken editor of Chinese state tabloid Global Times retires

A Chinese state tabloid editor who became a leading voice of strident nationalism with millions of social media followers has announced his retirement. A self-described former pro-democracy protester turned outspoken newspaper editor, Hu Xijin helped usher in a new era of brash, assertive nationalism under the president, Xi Jinping. In a social media post on Thursday, Hu said he had stepped down as editor-in-chief of the Global Times, which is owned by the ruling Communist party’s flagship newspaper the People’s Daily. The 61-year-old wrote to his 24 million followers on…

Can #MeToo Survive Chinese Censorship?

It’s a musical that follows Georges Seurat, the French 19th-century artist who was best known for his pointillist painting “A Sunday on La Grande Jatte.” The musical is about what you gain and sacrifice as an artist, and how to be an artist when you don’t feel like there’s anything left for you to make. After watching the first act, I’ll be honest — I wasn’t sold on Sondheim. I went out for intermission, and I start talking with friends who felt the same way. We just didn’t get it,…

The Censoring of Peng Shuai

Matthew Futterman contributed reporting. The Daily is made by Lisa Tobin, Rachel Quester, Lynsea Garrison, Clare Toeniskoetter, Paige Cowett, Michael Simon Johnson, Brad Fisher, Larissa Anderson, Chris Wood, Jessica Cheung, Stella Tan, Alexandra Leigh Young, Lisa Chow, Eric Krupke, Marc Georges, Luke Vander Ploeg, M.J. Davis Lin, Austin Mitchell, Dan Powell, Dave Shaw, Sydney Harper, Daniel Guillemette, Robert Jimison, Mike Benoist, Liz O. Baylen, Asthaa Chaturvedi, Kaitlin Roberts, Rachelle Bonja, Diana Nguyen, Marion Lozano, Corey Schreppel, Anita Badejo, Rob Szypko, Elisheba Ittoop, Chelsea Daniel, Mooj Zadie, Patricia Willens and Rowan…

How China Censored Peng Shuai

This article is published with ProPublica, the nonprofit investigative newsroom. When inconvenient news erupts on the Chinese internet, the censors jump into action. Twenty minutes was all it took to mobilize after Peng Shuai, the tennis star and one of China’s most famous athletes, went online and accused Zhang Gaoli, a former vice premier, of sexual assault. Ms. Peng’s post The allegation reached the heights of Beijing’s opaque political system, and officials turned to a tested playbook to stamp out discussion and shift the narrative. The tactics have helped Beijing…

Just for once, ethics, not sponsors’ millions, have spoken with the loudest voice in sport | Tim Adams

You can’t put a price on principles, but there have always been plenty of people willing to try. In the 1980s, when the sporting boycott of apartheid South Africa was holding relatively firm, the casino operators of Sun City would try to lure global sports stars to play one-off exhibition matches that broke the ban. John McEnroe, then at the height of his rebellious powers, turned down one such pay cheque, aged 24, with the memorable observation that “I’ve got better ways of earning a million bucks.” In the context…