RFI
WTA director Steve Simon asked on Sunday that the complaints of tennis player Peng Shuai, who accuses a former Chinese vice premier of forcing her to have sexual relations, “be investigated in a full, fair, transparent and uncensored manner.” Since these statements, the name of the women’s international has disappeared from Chinese media and networks.
In large blue, white and yellow characters, like tennis balls, they appeared last night on the concrete walls and bridges of major Chinese cities. “Peng Shuai, we are with you”, “We hope you are safe”. It is impossible to say where these screenings took place or how often. Photos taken by the FreeChineseFeminist movement were posted on Twitter, which is inaccessible without a VPN in China and is therefore not ‘cleaned’ by censors.
Big erasure
For the rest, everything related to the player has disappeared and the activists have no news. Since her accusations in early November in a post on the Sina Weibo network, all references to the tennis player’s name have been removed by censors. While the term “tennis” reappears in the Baidu search engine on Monday, the emoticon representing a tennis ball does not bring up any response.
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In her message, which was immediately censored, number one Chinese female stuntman Peng Shuai accused Zhang Gaoli of forcing her to have sex. Complaints of this type have never reached higher. The retired former Chinese vice minister was a member of the powerful Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, China’s highest governing body. For activists in the #MeToo movement, it’s David vs. Goliath.
“It is very difficult and risky to mobilize. Everything is censored immediately. That is why we had the idea of these ephemeral projections,” explains one of the activists of the FreeChineseFeminist hashtag whom RFI reached through an encrypted message.
“We want to support it, we reject censorship, we do not want Peng Shuai to be erased from the collective memory. The world of tennis talks about your safety. There was a statement calling for a transparent investigation, but even here it is censored, “he adds.
WTA director Steve Simon asked this Sunday that tennis player Peng Shuai’s complaints “be investigated fully, fairly, transparently and without censorship.”
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“The recent events in China involving a WTA player, Peng Shuai, are of great concern,” added Simon.
#WhereIsPengShuai
The messages projected on the walls disappear when the projector is turned off. Sneaky slogans that started this weekend, and were probably seen by very few people in China. Feminist associations confirmed that it was dangerous for them to express themselves on the subject, given the ultra-sensitive nature of the issue. These projected messages are likely not enough to shed light on the missing player’s situation, but don’t resign yourself, multiple witnesses said.
Walls speak out in China, while overseas players have reacted to Chinese censorship Before the World Women’s Tennis Association statement on Sunday night, sports professionals launched the hashtag #WhereIsPengShuai “Where is Peng Shuai ? ”
The Chinese Tennis Federation, for its part, has remained silent. The spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry replied last week during his press conference that he had not heard of this case, which according to him “does not concern diplomacy.”
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