New unconfirmed material from Peng Shua published online

A state reporter posted fresh, unconfirmed material about Peng Shui online on Sunday as international concerns about the Chinese tennis star continue after he publicly accused the former deputy prime minister of forcing him into sex.

Qingqing Chen, a reporter for the state-owned Global Times, tweeted a video showing Peng talking to a Chinese basketball icon with Yao Ming.

Chen said the video was sent to him by a “friend” and that it was taken at an event that advertised skiing in Shanghai.

The seven-second clip seems to make the tennis player smile and listen to Yao speak vaguely.

Chen also released a picture of Peng posing with Yao and two other Chinese sports characters – Olympic sailing Olympic winner Xu Lijia and retired table tennis player Wang Liqin.

The four stood next to the “FIS Cross Country Skiing China City Tour” banner in the background of Shanghai’s Yangpu Bridge.

The Shanghai stop of the ski tour was held on Saturday, according to the state-run CGTN news site.

Twitter is blocked in China, and only people with a VPN-type workaround can use it.

However, many Chinese diplomats and official state media have accounts to defend China’s perspective.

Peng, a former Wimbledon and French Open doubles champion, claimed on Chinese social media in early November that former Deputy Prime Minister Zhang Gaoli – who is 70 – forced him into sex during a multi-year on-off relationship. .

His message was quickly removed from the Chinese network, but not until the screenshots were posted on Twitter, causing a global stir.

The Women’s Tennis Association has demanded that Peng’s allegations be fully and transparently investigated.

The sports organization announced earlier this month that it will suspend all tournaments in China, including Hong Kong, because it is concerned about Peng’s safety.

State media has previously published other pictures of Peng at the Beijing tennis tournament, as well as a screenshot of an email the player claimed to have written “everything is fine.”

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Peng also participated in a 30-minute video call with Thomas Bach, director of the International Olympic Committee, in late November.

But the WTA and other tennis players have continued to demand more transparency from Beijing about Peng’s whereabouts.

tjx / jta / axn