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China comments on Peng Shuai: fears "maliciously" raised

China has raised fears in the case of tennis player Peng Shuai as "malicious".

by SID
last edit: Nov 23, 2021, 10:23 am

Peng Shuai's whereabouts remain a mystery
© Getty Images
Peng Shuai

"I think some people should stop deliberately and maliciously inflaming, let alone politicizing, this issue," Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said when asked whether the issue has damaged China's international image.

Before this statement, the government had repeatedly dismissed questions about the whereabouts of the 35-year-olds as a "non-diplomatic issue". International concerns about Peng had recently increased. The former world number one in doubles wrote earlier this month in the Twitter-like medium Weibo that she was sexually abused by former Chinese Vice Prime Minister Zhang Gaoli (75) . The entry was then deleted and there was no trace of Peng for more than two weeks.

Last week, the state media published video clips that are supposed to show Peng at current events. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) had also announced that President Thomas Bach had a 30-minute video call with the tennis player on Sunday. The athletes' association Global Athlete had sharply criticized the IOC for claiming that the IOC was "complicit in the malicious propaganda".

The WTA had expressed concerns despite the video call with the IOC: "This video does not change our call for a full, fair and transparent investigation into your allegation of sexual assault without censorship, the players' association said, because this issue has" our initial concern. " only triggered.

by SID

Tuesday
Nov 23, 2021, 10:23 am
last edit: Nov 23, 2021, 10:23 am