As international pressure increases for information on her health, Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai appeared in images released on Sunday (November 21) from China, showing her at a teenage tennis tournament in Beijing, the Fila Kids Junior Tennis Challenger. But she does not speak about her situation and the dissemination of images by journalists from state media familiar with the manipulations gives rise to fears that this is a forced staging.
Dressed in a navy sports jacket and white sweatpants, Peng Shuai appears in photos from the event posted on the official Weibo account, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter, of the China Open. It would be his first public appearance since his sexual assault charges against a former senior Communist Party official were widely censored on the Chinese internet.
Peng Shuai, 35, a former world number 1 doubles player and star in her country, had not been seen publicly since accusing former deputy prime minister Zhang Gaoli of forcing her to take a job. intercourse during a discontinuous relationship lasting several years.
A spokesperson for the WTA told Reuters news agency by email that the photos and videos released on Sunday did not give the organization any reassurance and that these elements were “Insufficient”.
A photo of Peng Shuai at the Beijing tournament was also posted on Twitter Sunday by Ding Li, a senior executive at Global D-Sports, a company specializing in organizing sporting events. Ding Li, who claims to be a longtime friend of the tennis player, claimed that the tennis player’s phone worked and the WTA only had to call her, but said the player did not accept. interviews with foreign media.
Succession of media footage from the Chinese state
Following global reactions, especially from tennis stars and the United Nations, Chinese state media quickly published a series of footage meant to reassure the athlete’s fate.
A video of the event, posted on Twitter by Hu Xijin, influential editor-in-chief of the official daily Global Times, shows Peng Shuai standing in the middle of a group of guests whose names are announced to the applauding audience. A journalist from Global Times tweeted another video showing Peng Shuai signing autographs for kids in what appears to be the same stadium before posing for photos with them. This last also posted footage from the opening ceremony of the tournament in which the player appears.
Mr. Hu, particularly close to power, also posted two videos of the player in the evening. “Having dinner with her trainer and friends in a restaurant” in Beijing and tours the same day, he said. Their discussion revolves around the date, in what appears to be a staging meant to reassure foreign opinions about the player’s situation.
Agence France-Presse was unable to confirm the location or the conditions under which the images were shot. And Hu Xijin made no reference to it on his Weibo account in Chinese.