The president of the WTA, which manages the women’s tennis circuit, “remain deeply worried” as for the freedom of speech of the Chinese player Peng Shuai who had accused a senior leader of her country in early November of forced sex, a spokesperson told AFP on Saturday.
Steve Simon “remains deeply concerned about Peng’s freedom from any censorship or coercion and has decided not to contact her again via email until he is certain that his responses are personal and not those of his censors. “, said the spokesperson. “Steve Simon contacted Peng Shuai through various communication channels. He sent her two emails, but it was clear that her responses were influenced by others “, explained the spokesperson.
However, she did not wish to return to information from the BBC based on the statements of a “friend” of the player and according to which she would have sent an email to Steve Simon, thanking him for his concern, but he asking not to intervene in order to let her “calm”.
The young woman reappeared last weekend in a restaurant in Beijing and during a tennis tournament held in the Chinese capital, according to videos published by official media. On Sunday, she also spoke by videoconference with the President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Thomas Bach.
According to the IOC, Peng Shuai explained that she was “safe and sound at her home in Beijing but that she would like her privacy to be respected.” And on Tuesday, it was Beijing who called not to “politicize” ni “to go up in hairpin“the Peng Shuai case, in a rare official reaction to the accusations made by the player.
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