The leader of the Women’s Tennis Association said he is willing to pull out of China if missing Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai is not accounted for.
Steve Simon, chairman and CEO of the WTA, said business interests should not get in the way of doing “what’s right,” alluding to a willingness to end business ties with the country over Shuai’s disappearance unless Chinese officials provide proof she is safe.
“We’re definitely willing to pull our business and deal with all the complications that come with it,” Simon told CNN on Thursday. “This is bigger than the business.”
PENG SHUAI: WHO IS THE CHINESE TENNIS PLAYER AND HAS SHE GONE MISSING?
Simon said an email released by Chinese officials purportedly showing the tennis player was alive and well “only raises [his] concerns as to her safety and whereabouts.”
“I have a hard time believing that Peng Shuai actually wrote the email we received or believes what is being attributed to her,” the WTA CEO said Thursday. “Peng Shuai displayed incredible courage in describing an allegation of sexual assault against a former top official in the Chinese government. The WTA and the rest of the world need independent and verifiable proof that she is safe.”
Shuai, 35, accused Zhang Gaoli, former vice-premier of China, of sexual assault in a post on Chinese social media platform Weibo. Her post was quickly scrubbed from the internet, and she has not been seen since her Nov. 2 post.
Chinese state media outlet CGTN released an email on Wednesday that it claimed Shuai sent to Simon. In the email, Shuai denied the allegations against Gaoli and said she was “fine.”
“I’m not missing, nor am I unsafe … If the WTA publishes any more news about me, please verify it with me, and release it with my consent,” the email said.
Simon acknowledged receipt of the questionable email but said his alternative attempts to contact her were unsuccessful.
“Whether she was coerced into writing it, someone wrote it for her, we don’t know,” Simon said. “But at this point, I don’t think there’s any validity in it, and we won’t be comfortable until we have a chance to speak with her.”
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The WTA, the Asia Pacific headquarters of which is located in Beijing, does a significant amount of business in China. Speaking out against China could put hundreds of millions of dollars worth of business at risk for the organization.
China is due to host the 2022 Winter Olympics in February, despite bipartisan backlash from politicians in the United States.
