Beijing: Missing tennis star Peng Shuai reappeared in public on Sunday at a youth tournament in Beijing, according to photos released by the organiser. The ruling Communist Party tried to quell fears abroad while suppressing information in China about Peng after she accused a senior leader of sexual assault.
The post by the China Open on the Weibo social media service made no mention of Peng’s disappearance or her accusation. Peng was shown standing beside a court, waving and signing oversize commemorative tennis balls for children. The appearance followed an announcement by the editor of a party newspaper on Saturday on Twitter, which can’t be seen by most Internet users in China, that the three-time Olympian would “show up in public” soon.
Peng’s disappearance and the government’s silence in response to appeals for information prompted calls for a boycott of the Winter Olympics in Beijing in February, a prestige event for the Communist Party. The women’s professional tour threatened to pull events out of China unless the safety of the former No. 1 doubles player was assured.
Discussion of Peng’s accusation has been deleted from websites in China. A government spokesman on Friday denied knowing about the outcry. The ruling party’s Internet filters also block most people in China from seeing other social media abroad and most global news outlets. Peng adds to a growing number of Chinese businesspeople, activists and ordinary people who have disappeared in recent years after criticising party figures or in crackdowns on corruption or pro-democracy and labour rights campaigns.
The editor of the party newspaper Global Times, Hu Xijin, wrote Saturday on Twitter that Peng “stayed in her own home freely” and would “show up in public and participate in some activities soon”.