Where the Chinese tennis player is currently staying is still unclear. Fans at the Australian Open wanted to draw attention to Peng Shuai’s fate with a message. They are now allowed to do so because the organiser came under pressure.
Spectators at the Australian Open are now allowed to wear T-shirts with the China-critical message “Where is Peng Shuai?” after all. People wearing the garments, which can be interpreted as criticism of China’s handling of tennis player Peng Shuai, will be allowed into the stadium as long as they are “peaceful”, tournament chief Craig Tiley said on Tuesday.
Organisers had come under pressure after insisting on tournament rules banning clothing, banners or signs with “promotional or political” content.
The U-turn came after a video surfaced on the internet showing security guards at the Melbourne venue preventing spectators from wearing T-shirts that read “Where is Peng Shuai? The video also shows security guards apparently removing a banner.
Doubt about Peng Shuai’s well-being
The case of Peng Shuai had caused a worldwide stir at the end of last year. On the Twitter-like Chinese online service Weibo, the tennis player had accused former Chinese vice-governor Zhang Gaoli of forcing her to have sex in early November.
The post was quickly censored by Chinese authorities, and Peng herself was not seen in public for almost three weeks. Sports federations, the United Nations and Western governments then expressed alarm at the fate of the tennis star. At the end of December, Peng publicly spoke out about the affair – and in the process retracted the accusations against Zhang.
Internationally, there are still grave doubts about Peng’s well-being. The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) has suspended its tournaments in China out of concern for Peng.
