While international requests to shed light on the disappearance of Peng Shuai are growing, photos of the Chinese tennis player appear on social networks of which there is no news since the beginning of November, after the woman reported that she was sexually assaulted by the former vice premier Zhang Gaoli. The photos were posted on Twitter by a reporter from a Chinese state broadcaster who claimed that the three images, which show Peng playing with a cat and stuffed animals, come from Peng’s WeChat account who also wrote “Have a nice weekend”.
The photos come after yesterday the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), the association that brings together professional tennis players from all over the world, said it was ready to stop all its scheduled tournaments in China if no light is shed on the fate by Peng Shuai. The United States and the United Nations also joined the request. “We are deeply concerned about the news of Peng Shuai’s disappearance following her complaints,” White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said, asking Beijing to provide “independent and verifiable” information on the tennis player’s whereabouts.
The same request came from Liz Throssell, spokesperson for the UN office for human rights, who also asked for “a transparent investigation” into the allegations against the former prime minister. “We have no news of Peng since she reported on social media that she was sexually assaulted – said the spokesperson – it is important that we have evidence of where she is and that she is fine”.