Peng Shuai Chinese tennis superstar is seen here at the women’s singles match against Samantha Stosur of Australia on the second day at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, on July 3, 2018. Peng’s disappearance is one of the major reasons why the WTA is pulling out from the 2022 Olympics in Beijing (AP News file photo)
WTA Suspends all Tournaments in China
That’s Amaury News and Commentary
By Amaury Pi-González
The Women’s Tennis Association is suspending all tournaments in China, including Hong Kong. The announcement was made by WTA Chairman and CEO Steve Simon. This decision comes after Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai alleged she was sexually assaulted by Zhang Gaoli, former Vice Premier of China.
This suspension of activities also includes Hong Kong, aside from China. After Peng made the announcement on social media the Chinese government deleted her post on the site Weibo and also her account. For weeks there has been concern for the safety of the Chinese tennis star.
Mr. Steve Simon said: “Unfortunately, the leadership in China has not addressed this very serious issue in any credible way. While we now know where Peng is, I have serious doubts that she is free, safe and not subject to censorship, coercion and intimidation,” Simon said in the statement. “The WTA has been clear on what is needed here, and we repeat our call for a full and transparent investigation – without censorship – into Peng Shuai’s sexual assault accusation.”
It is not clear how many tournament this suspension will affect but Simon said he is “greatly concerned” of the risks all players will face if they were to play in China.
The 2022 Winter Olympics are scheduled for Beijing, China on February 2. There is world pressure on companies to speak on defense of Peng Shuai and, at worst; the United States could boycott the Olympics.
According to the UN, Communist China continues to show disregard for human rights in many issues, including forced labor camps for minorities. It is believed that China as it was estimated that Chinese authorities may have detained up to 1.5 million people mostly groups of ethnic Muslims and Christians in internment camps.
The WTA (World Tennis Association) has shown a lot of balls in defense of this Chinese tennis star. So far no other sports league in the US has supported the WTA, who is picking principals over materialism, as they stand to lose a lot of money by this move.
Amaury Pi Gonzalez does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com
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