China: new images of Peng Shuai released by state media

A month after the first images showing Peng Shuai at a tennis tournament in November, a new video of the Chinese was posted on Sunday. A reporter from a Chinese state media released a new, unauthenticated video and photo of the tennis player, whose fate worries the tennis community after her accusations against a former top Chinese leader.

Global Times media reporter Qingqing Chen tweeted a seven-second video showing former World Doubles No. 1 chatting with former NBA star basketball player Yao Ming. According to the reporter, the video was sent to her by a friend and was shot during a Nordic skiing promotion event in Shanghai on Saturday.

The photo released on Sunday shows Peng Shuai posing with Yao Ming and two other Chinese sports figures: sailor Xu Lijia and former table tennis player Wang Liqin. Behind them, you can see the Shanghai Yangpu Bridge and a “FIS Cross-Country Skiing China City Tour” banner.

Peng Shuai accused former Deputy Prime Minister Zhang Gaoli in early November of forcing him to have sex three years ago. Her message, posted on a social network, was promptly censored and the 35-year-old disappeared from radar screens for three weeks, causing concern in the tennis world.

Since the disappearance of the sportswoman in mid-November, the WTA, the body governing the women’s world circuit, has canceled all its tournaments in China and calls for a transparent investigation into the player’s accusations.

Chinese media have repeatedly published photos of the player, as well as a screenshot of an email attributed to her and where it is written “everything is fine” but the authenticity of which raises significant doubts.

The player also had a half-hour videoconference chat with the President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Thomas Bach. But the WTA and many tennis personalities continue to demand more transparency from China on the fate of the young woman.