China’s foreign ministry has accused unnamed people of “malicious hyping” in the case of the tennis star Peng Shuai, in a hardline and unrepentant response to questions in the west over her wellbeing. The whereabouts and wellbeing of Peng, a former doubles world number one, has become a matter of international concern over the past three weeks, after she alleged in a message on the Chinese social media site Weibo that the country’s former vice-premier, Zhang Gaoli, had sexually assaulted her. Peng ceased to be seen in public shortly after…
Month: November 2021
Why Peng Shuai Frustrates China’s Propaganda Machine
The Chinese government has become extremely effective in controlling what the country’s 1.4 billion people think and talk about. But influencing the rest of the world is a different matter, as Peng Shuai has aptly demonstrated. Chinese state media and its journalists have offered one piece of evidence after another to prove the star Chinese tennis player was safe and sound despite her public accusation of sexual assault against a powerful former vice premier. One Beijing-controlled outlet claimed it obtained an email she wrote in which she denied the accusations.…
Taiwan says it will respect Honduras vote outcome despite possibly losing another ally
Supporters of Honduran presidential candidate for the Libertad y Refundacion (Libre) party Xiomara Castro de Zelaya take part in the campaign’s closing event, in Tegucigalpa on November 21, 2021. On November 28 Hondurans will elect a president, three vice-presidents and hundreds of other officials. Photo: AFP South China Morning Post
China launched second missile during July hypersonic test, reports say
China’s launch of a nuclear-capable missile carrying a hypersonic glide vehicle also included the unprecedented launch of a separate missile from that vehicle, according to multiple reports. The test showed China’s development of its strategic, nuclear-capable weapons as more advanced than any had thought, surprising Pentagon officials, the Financial Times and Wall Street Journal reported. The test, thought to have taken place in July, made global headlines when it emerged last month that the vehicle had flown into space and completed a partial orbit of the Earth. Now, the test…
China bans Namewee’s viral pop song Fragile
A viral pop song that pokes fun at Beijing and its supporters has been banned in mainland China. Fragile mocks so-called “little pinks” – a term which refers to young nationalists who rush to the defence of the Chinese government on the internet. The lyrics contain words like “re-education camp”, “cotton”, “inseparable relationship”, taking a dig at sensitive issues ranging from Xinjiang to Taiwan sovereignty. The video has gone viral in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Singapore, despite the ban in mainland China. The BBC talks to the song’s creator,…
West weighs up costs of boycotting China’s Winter Olympics
Boycotting the Beijing Winter Olympics in February may seem a simple, symbolic diplomatic gesture – when put alongside the allegations of labour camps in Xinjiang province and the apparent sexual exploitation of the Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai – but such is the contemporary economic power of China that the step will only be taken after much agonising. The threats and economic boycotts that Australia, Canada and more recently Lithuania have suffered at the hands of the Chinese for challenging Beijing’s authority in one way or another are not experiences…
How Peng Shuai Went From ‘Chinese Princess’ to Silenced #MeToo Accuser
When Peng Shuai was a young tennis player in China’s national sports system, she battled officials for control over her own professional career — and she won. When she took on one of China’s most powerful men three weeks ago, accusing him of sexual assault, she found her voice silenced, erased from China’s heavily controlled cyberspace and smiling in awkward public appearances most likely intended to defuse what has become an international scandal. At 35, Ms. Peng is one of her country’s most recognized athletes, a doubles champion at Wimbledon…
The Quiet China-Africa Revolution: Chinese Investment
Advertisement The Forum on China Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), a gathering of Chinese and African officials that has been held seven times (including three leaders’ summits) since its inauguration in 2000, has always been known – and occasionally chastised – for being highly government-focused. At the same time, however, a quiet transformation has been taking place: Investors have begun to dominate China-Africa finance. Since 2003, the earliest date official data is available, annual flows of Chinese foreign direct investment to Africa has risen significantly – from a mere $74.8 million in…
Peng Shuai: WTA says Chinese tennis star’s call with IOC chief is not enough
Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai’s video call with the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) does not address or alleviate the Women’s Tennis Association’s (WTA) concern about her wellbeing, the WTA said on Monday. The whereabouts of former doubles world number one Peng have been a matter of international concern for nearly three weeks after she alleged that a former senior Chinese government official sexually assaulted her. She appeared at a dinner with friends on Saturday and a children’s tennis tournament in Beijing on Sunday, photos and videos published…
Video of Peng Shuai With Olympic Officials Fuels a Showdown With Tennis
According to the I.O.C. statement, Bach invited Peng to a dinner when he arrives for the Games in Beijing, which would include Terho and Li Lingwei, an I.O.C. member and Chinese Tennis Federation official who also participated in the call. However, the seemingly friendly banter and dinner plans did little to satisfy Steve Simon, the chief executive of the WTA Tour. Simon has been trying to establish independent contact with Peng for more than a week to no avail and has grown increasingly strident in his criticism of the Chinese…