With international pressure on China, during the night some photos of Peng Shuai, the tennis player who disappeared in early November after having reported being the victim of asexual assault commissioned by the former deputy premier Zhang Gaoli. After the protests of illustrious names in sport, starting with Novak Djokovic, and the threat of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) to leave the country, soon joined by the United States and the United Nations, a journalist from the state broadcaster he spread on Twitter some pictures of the girl playing with her cat and with some soft toys which, she claims, come from Peng’s WeChat account that would also have written “Happy Weekend”.
Obviously, it remains to be understood when the photos date back and whether they were actually disseminated by the Chinese athlete, given that in recent days the state TV had published a letter attributed to the girl in which she reassured everyone by saying that she had not disappeared. Words about the authenticity of which various organizations for the defense of human rights have expressed perplexity. Hu Xijin was the first Chinese journalist to directly cite the Peng case, writing on Thursday night that he does not believe, “as a person familiar with the Chinese system”, that the tennis player “has received retaliation and repression hypothesized by the foreign media for the things people have talked about ”.
The director of the Global Times, Hu Xijin, intervened on this point, who assured on Twitter that the latest photos appeared on social media represent “his current state” and that he had “confirmation through my sources”: “In the days past, she stayed at her house freely and did not want to be disturbed – he says – She will show up in public and soon participate in some activities ”, he added.
“We are deeply concerned about the news of Peng Shuai’s disappearance following her reports,” White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said yesterday, 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 to have evidence of where she is and that she is fine”.
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