Month: November 2021

Was Tennis Star Peng Caught up in Xi’s Power Politics?

Chin@Strategy

Photo from NY Post There is more than meets the eye to the affair surrounding the Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai, who disappeared after accusing a former top Chinese official of raping her. After a huge international flap, she has reappeared, telling the International Olympic Committee she is safe and sound. Although the affair has garnered worldwide attention, with the World Tennis Association threatening to cancel 10 WTA tournaments in China and lose 25 percent of its revenues, which amount to more than US$1 billion, it may be deeply enmeshed in…

Who, and Where, Is Chinese Tennis Star Peng Shuai?

Chin@Strategy

A simple question has gripped the sports world and drawn the attention of the White House, United Nations and others: Where is Peng Shuai? The Chinese tennis star disappeared from public view for weeks this month after she accused a top Chinese leader of sexual assault, prompting a global chorus of concern for her safety. Then, this weekend, the editor of a Communist Party-controlled newspaper posted video clips that appear to show Ms. Peng eating at a restaurant and attending a tennis event in Beijing. And on Sunday, the International…

Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai tells IOC she is ‘safe and well’

Chin@Strategy

The Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai said she was safe and well in a video call on Sunday, the International Olympic Committee has said, amid growing international demands for assurances that she is free and not under threat. In a statement, the IOC said that Peng had spoken to its president, Thomas Bach, for 30 minutes. “She explained that she is safe and well, living at her home in Beijing, but would like to have her privacy respected at this time,” the IOC’s statement said. “That is why she prefers…

How the U.S. Lost Ground to China in the Contest for Clean Energy

Chin@Strategy

WASHINGTON — Tom Perriello saw it coming but could do nothing to stop it. André Kapanga too. Despite urgent emails, phone calls and personal pleas, they watched helplessly as a company backed by the Chinese government took ownership from the Americans of one of the world’s largest cobalt mines. It was 2016, and a deal had been struck by the Arizona-based mining giant Freeport-McMoRan to sell the site, located in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which now figures prominently in China’s grip on the global cobalt supply. The metal has…

China downgrades diplomatic relations with Lithuania over Taiwan row

Chin@Strategy

China has officially downgraded its diplomatic ties with Lithuania to the “charge d’affaires” level in protest at Taiwan establishing a de facto embassy in Vilnius. Lithuania allowing Taipei to formally open an office using the name Taiwan was a significant diplomatic departure that defied a pressure campaign by Beijing, which tries to keep Taiwan isolated on the global stage. “The Chinese government had to lower diplomatic relations between the two countries … in order to safeguard its sovereignty and the basic norms of international relations,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs…

Peng Shuai Said to Be in Videos From China’s State Media

Chin@Strategy

Nearly two weeks after people across the world began asking “Where is Peng Shuai?,” two questionable videos surfaced Saturday on social media of a person who appears to be the Chinese tennis star at a restaurant. The videos were shared on Twitter by the editor of a state-run newspaper, but the seemingly unnatural conversation in one video and the unclear location and dates of both raised questions about Peng’s safety and whether she was appearing in the videos of her own free will. A third video, said to be of…

WTA chief casts doubt on Chinese player Peng video

Chin@Strategy

WTA chairman ‘worried about Peng’s safety’ A video claiming to show Chinese player Peng Shuai out with friends is “insufficient” evidence of her safety, says Women’s Tennis Association chief Steve Simon. On Saturday, Chinese state-affiliated media posted two clips on Twitter of Peng purportedly having dinner with her coach and friends in a restaurant. “While it is positive to see her, it remains unclear if she is free and able to make decisions and take actions on her own, without coercion or external interference,” said Simon. Peng, 35, has not…

What to Know About the Frantic Quest for Cobalt

Chin@Strategy

The clean energy revolution is replacing oil and gas with a new global force: the minerals and metals needed in electric car batteries, solar panels and other forms of renewable energy. Places like the Democratic Republic of Congo, which produces two-thirds of the world’s supply of cobalt, for example, are stepping into the kinds of roles once played by Saudi Arabia and other oil-rich nations. And a race between China and the United States to secure supplies could have far-reaching implications for the shared goal of protecting the planet. An…

‘Horrifying’: Djokovic voices concern for Peng Shuai as WTA threatens to pull out of China – video

Chin@Strategy

The men’s world No 1 Novak Djokovic voiced his concern for missing Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai. Djokovic said he supported “100%” the WTA’s threat to pull events out of China.  Peng, a former doubles world No 1, has not been seen in public since she accused the former high-ranking official Zhang Gaoli of sexual assault on 2 November. A journalist from China’s state broadcaster has revealed a set of photos, which he said were posted on Peng’s WeChat social media account on Friday, but analysts debated the authenticity of…