Peng Shuai on the court hitting a tennis ball at the 2010 US Open
Peng Shuai at the 2010 US Open

#WhereIsPengShuai is a hashtag, used mainly in social media, and a grassroots campaign to raise awareness about the disappearance of Chinese tennis athlete, Peng Shuai (彭帥).

Purpose of the hashtag

On November 2, 2021, Chinese tennis player, Peng Shuai, wrote in a social media post that politician Zhang Gaoli had sexually assaulted her three years previously.[1] Approximately 30 minutes later the post disappeared and references to Peng Shuai disappeared from China's internet.[1]

The hashtag, #WhereIsPengShuai (Where is Peng Shuai?), first appeared on Twitter on November 12, 2021.[2] The next day, French professional tennis player Alize Cornet tweeted, "Let's not remain silent #WhereIsPengShuai".[3] The hashtag was then quickly picked up and used by the tennis community and others to call attention to the disappearance of Peng Shuai.[4][5] Among those who did this in the following couple of days were Chris Evert, Nicolas Mahut, Naomi Osaka, Stan Wawrinka and Serena Williams.

Australian Open

Four people wearing ‘Where is Peng Shuai?’ white t-shirts with black lettering at the Australian Open.
Four people including Drew Pavlou (second right) wearing ‘Where is Peng Shuai?’ t-shirts at the Australian Open.

During the 2022 Australian Open, on 22 January, fans wearing t-shirts with the slogan "Where is Peng Shuai?" were asked to remove their shirts. A police officer at the scene was recorded saying, "The Australian Open does have a rule that you can't have political slogans ... it's a rule that it's a condition of entry."[6] Tennis Australia backed up the police response. Later, Martina Navratilova stated, "I find it really, really cowardly. I think they are wrong on this. This is not a political statement, this is a human rights statement."[6]

After an international outcry, Tennis Australian chief Craig Tiley reversed the decision and said fans are free to wear the t-shirts.[7] However, signs on poles or "mobs" would not be allowed.[7]

In response to the t-shirt controversy, a Chinese spokesman said, "The politicisation of sports will not succeed and will not gain support from the majority of people, including sportsmen and women, in the international community."[7]

Multilingual use of the hashtag

The hashtag appeared as #OùEstPengShuai[8] in French media and #DondeEstaPengShuai[9] in Spanish media.

China's response to the hashtag

The name Peng Shuai was censored in China within 30 minutes of a social media post authored by Peng Shuai accusing former vice premier Zhang Gaoli of sexual assault.[10] It is therefore assumed the hashtag, #WhereIsPengShuai remains unknown to Chinese citizens.[11]

References

  1. 1 2 "As concern grows for Peng Shuai, in China her story is barely a whisper". the Guardian. 19 November 2021. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  2. ↑ "PengShuai". Twitter. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
  3. ↑ "Evert joins tennis chorus of #WhereIsPengShuai". France 24. 14 November 2021. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
  4. ↑ "Evert joins tennis chorus of #WhereIsPengShuai". France 24. 14 November 2021. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
  5. ↑ Kao, Paul Mozur,Muyi Xiao,Gray Beltran,Jeff. "China Unleashed Its Propaganda Machine on Peng Shuai's #MeToo Accusation. Her Story Still Got Out". ProPublica. Retrieved 10 December 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. 1 2 "Aussie fans asked to remove Peng Shuai T-shirts". ESPN.com. 23 January 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  7. 1 2 3 Ganguly, Sudipto (25 January 2022). "'Where is Peng Shuai?' shirts welcome at Australian Open". Reuters. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  8. ↑ "#OuEstPengShuai: ce que l'on sait sur la disparition de la joueuse de tennis" [#OuEstPengShuai: what we know about the disappearance of the tennis player]. moustique.be (in French). 18 November 2021. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
  9. ↑ "Incertidumbre en el tenis tras la desaparición de jugadora que denunció abusos sexuales" [Uncertainty in tennis after the disappearance of a player who reported sexual abuse]. Semana.com (in Spanish). 14 November 2021. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
  10. ↑ Zhong, Rui (5 December 2021). "The Case of Tennis Star Peng Shuai Reveals the Real Purpose of China's Censorship". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
  11. ↑ Wang, Kai; Song, Wanyuan (3 December 2021). "Peng Shuai: How China censored a tennis star". BBC News. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
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