Where is Peng Shuai?

#whereispengshuai is something we've been asking for 6 weeks (since 2  Nov) and we are still in the dark as to her whereabouts. I haven't posted about it because it's a tricky situation. Before commenting I need to feel sure I know what I'm talking about as I did when I posted on Facebook about Britney's conservatorship which was a blatant case of domestic violence, a subject I know a great deal about, as well as abuse of her human rights. Children/adult children can suffer domestic violence from a parent(s) and other members of the family. 

Peng Shuai's case is very different and has happened in a non-democratic, non-Western country with which most of us, in the West, are less familiar. Here's an interesting article which gives a wider context to Peng Shuai's possible situation and why international concerns have been raised.

My first thought was how can an international athlete go missing because surely they are in contact with their coach and training team whether on tour or during the off-season. What about her family? For the ITF, there's no such thing as not knowing where a player is at all times, especially if they are in the top 100 for singles or top 10 in doubles due to the anti-doping system. Having said that, Peng Shuai is in neither category which is where the problem lies. Indeed, she hasn't played since Feb 2020 in Doha and dropped out of the top 100 that year. Given her drop in rankings why didn't she play ITF tournaments which carry on throughout the year? So, who on the tennis tour has seen or heard of her since and in which country? Nevertheless, the anti-doping system is not just limited to the top 100 or top 10 so the ITF and WADA could expand how many players are made members of the International Registered Testing Pool (IRTP). Once the ITF contact a player to say they are a member of IRTP, the player must enter their "whereabouts information directly and accurately" into WADA's online management system, ADAMS (see here for quote and full explanation). Even if you've retired but wish to return to the tour you have to give 3 months 'whereabouts' prior to your return. So the ITF could add Peng Shuai to the group who have to then give details where they are every day of the week, every day of the year. It may also help to freeze her ranking (this is an exceptional situation) and block any attempts for her to retire because it may not be authentic. 

Both Amnesty International and the UN High Commisioner for Human Rights have demanded China provide proof of where Peng is, how she is and have asked for an investigation. I'm not sure they had much success which is a surprise because China sits on the U.N Human Rights Council (since April 2020) responsible for selecting UN representatives who keep an eye on forced disappearances and forced detentions, health, discrimination against women and free speech. 

The Australia Director of Human Rights Watch was not impressed by the IOC's handling of her case and neither was the Chinese equivalent, a researcher at Human Rights Watch. Not sure they had much success either athough the IOC claimed she seems to be fine after apparently talking to her via video call for 30 minutes. This didn't seem to reassure anyone because people were not convinced by the apparent evidence given and no further recordings/videos have been released by them. Just as people were not convinced by an email, apparently by her, denying she made the accusations. 

On top of this, she hasn't been allowed to talk to the CEO of the WTA, Steve Simon although she now claims she wrote to him to say she's at home in Beijing on her own.

There's also a special organisation that deals with people disappearing in China (Safeguard Defenders) so one would expect that they are the best to deal with this situation. Have they?

Internal rules of a country are difficult to negotiate at the best of times but it becomes more complex when that country is one that doesn't easily bend to international pressure.

So now what? Peng Shuai's ranking is too low to automatically enter the Australian Open so her absence there tells us little. She could be given a wildcard because she's won Grand Slams (Wimbledon, {The Championships} and  French {RG} doubles). Usually, a player has to request a wildcard but in her case maybe this could be waived. However, not knowing where she is, it could be difficult to make sure she receives it. If she's in a detention centre, such as China's Residential Surveillance at a Designated Location where tens of thousands have been sent as part of forced disappearance, then it's almost impossible to find her for possibly 6 months (see here for more information). So, it really is an international human rights issue and only experts in this area can meaningfully help. It does show how important and useful Social Media is because it can alert the world when there's a problem/issue anywhere in the world. If Peng Shuai hadn't perhaps posted on Weibo we wouldn't be aware of her disappearance and the serious problem she may be facing. 

Why haven't people boycotted Weibo in protest? Famous politicians are on Weibo, such as, Boris Johnson, David Cameron, and Justin Trudeau. Could they have applied more pressure on the Chinese government to reassure us about Peng Shuai? Iain Duncan Smith, (a rebel Tory👍) has put forward the idea of boycotting the Winter Olympics in China as a tough stance against China's human rights abuses.

Do we know where the Chinese politician, Zhang Gaoli, is? What about his wife? Can they throw light on where Peng Shuai is? Since extra-marital affairs are not allowed in China, Zhang's whereabouts are relevant. Is he in a similar situation or not?

There has been, generally, a widespread state crack-down on the Chinese internet surrounding Peng Shuai, even to the extent of limiting any reference to tennis. Hundreds of keywords were censored, a tactic only used for topics which are ' hot potatoes ' such as Tiananman Square! So it's right to be concerned about her and be sceptical of so-called evidence. Here's an excellent article which expands on this. 

The WTA responded in the only way possible by withdrawing all tournaments from China putting ethics before profit. The ITF added their support by also withdrawing their tournaments from China. It's a pity the ATP hasn't done likewise!

On Sunday 19th December, some state controlled footage was released of Peng Shuai with other athletes e.g. Yao Ming, in China but it's unverified. Has anyone tried artificial intelligence to match her face so we know we are looking at the right person?

Also, on this day, there seems to be a foreign press interview between Peng Shuai and a state controlled Singapore publication (in Chinese) which sees her claim she never made allegations against Zhang Gaoli. And, there's a seven second video of her circulating on Twitter.

It's possible that we just don't have the full story but how to obtain the full picture is the dilemma. Since she hasn't retired, as far as we know, why haven't we seen her preparing for the forthcoming season? And why hasn't she registered interest in playing future tournaments? I hope she's well but until we can see her somewhere in person, preferably at a tennis tournament, we can't be sure. Meanwhile, we must not forget about her and keep asking questions and analysing any evidence.