Beijing pushes limits of authoritarian reach with latest celebrity “disappearance”

A Chinese international sports celebrity has been “disappeared.”  She is the latest in a series of high-profile Chinese citizens who mysteriously vanished in recent years after running afoul of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), including e-commerce billionaire Jack Ma, real estate mogul Ren Zhiqiang and actress Zhao Wei.

On November 16, Radio Free Asia reported that Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai had been incommunicado since she accused former Vice Premier of the CCP Zhang Gaoli of pressuring her into a sexual relationship. In a November 2 post to Chinese microblogging site Weibo, Peng alleged that Zhang first approached her for sex at age 19 and tried to restart the extramarital affair 10 years later. The post was taken down within 30 minutes, but screenshots circulated internationally.

On November 17, CCP mouthpiece CGTN broadcast a supposed email from Peng saying that her allegations were not true. “I’m not missing, nor am I unsafe, I’ve been resting at home and everything is fine,” CGTN quoted the email as saying. Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) network, which compiles and translates reports from rights organizations in China, said the claims from CGTN are dubious. China also reportedly blocked CNN’s signal in the country to prevent them from reporting about the case.

Individual high-profile players have publicly demanded answers:

• Serena Williams said she was “devastated and shocked” about the situation and called for an investigation.
• Tennis legend Billie Jean King said on Twitter, “Hoping that Peng Shuai is found safe and that her accusations are fully investigated.”
• Former world No.1 ranked player Chris Evert said, “these accusations are very disturbing.”
• Patrick McEnroe, Andy Murray and Simona Halep also voiced their concern.

Professional tennis organizations have been insistent in their calls for accountability from the CCP as well:

• The U.S.-based Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), representing 1,650 female players, said it was deeply concerned for Peng’s health and safety, with Chairman Steve Simon saying that the purported CGTN email “only raises my concerns as to her safety and whereabouts.”
• Andrea Gaudenzi, the executive chairman of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), which governs men’s tennis, released a statement stressing concern about Peng’s welfare. “Developments in recent days in the case of Peng Shuai are deeply unsettling… the need for verifiable direct communication with her is vital.”

This visible solidarity at an official level is especially encouraging, as China has previously retaliated against sports leagues and brands that have condemned its actions. Enes Kanter of the National Basketball League’s (NBA) Boston Celtics has been the most vocal critic of China’s treatment of Uyghurs and Tibetans, among other abuses. Following Kanter’s comments last month, China’s Tencent, where fans in China can view NBA content, punitively removed highlights of the Celtics. In 2019, the NBA’s games were pulled from CCTV, China’s state-run television, in response to a tweet then-Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey posted in support of pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong. Beijing has successfully used its economic and political heft to intimidate the entertainment industry as well, with actor John Cena notoriously apologizing in a video message after casually referring to Taiwan as a “country” in spring 2021.

In the case of Peng Shuai, a sustained, high-profile campaign for accountability may achieve results, especially as Beijing will be hosting the 2022 Winter Olympics in just three months. China wants to maintain a clean international image at least until then, and the “contagion” of resistance may spread from tennis to other sports, fortifying boycott calls.

Beijing is accustomed to keeping political “disappearances” an internal Chinese matter. With increasing globalization of not only economics, but entertainment and sports, the Communist regime has been exposed to infiltration from outside entities such as sports leagues. The NBA has been quiescent and only one player has rebelled, but it appears the tennis associations are not willing to back down, and dozens of players including several top stars have questioned the CCP narrative. Beijing may finally be pushing the limits of what injustices an authoritarian regime can inflict, even on its own citizens on its own soil, in a globalized world.