IOC says it plans to meet with Peng Shuai at Olympics

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has plans to meet with Peng Shuai, the Chinese tennis player who disappeared from public view for weeks after accusing a former Chinese vice premier of sexual assault, during the Olympic Games next month.

“Since the first call that the IOC held with Peng Shuai on 21 November 2021, the IOC team has kept in touch with her and had a number of conversations with her — the last one just the past week,” an IOC spokesperson said to The Washington Post. “In this way, we got to know each other better.

“For instance, she told us that she is looking forward to the upcoming Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 and intends to follow the competitions and her fellow Chinese Olympians closely,” the spokesperson added. “She also mentioned again that she is looking forward to a meeting with IOC President Thomas Bach and Emma Terho, the chair of the IOC Athletes’ Commission, to which we had invited her in the first conversation. This meeting will happen during the Games.” 

In November, Peng accused Zhang Gaoli, a former Chinese vice premier, of sexual assault in a social media post on her Weibo account. Following her post, she disappeared from the public for almost three weeks, garnering international concern. Following calls made for confirmation of Peng’s status, Chinese state media began releasing photos of her online.

In December, Peng said she never accused anyone of sexual assault and added that the post was misinterpreted.

According to the Post, human rights activists and others have criticized IOC’s efforts to downplay concerns about Peng ahead of the games. 

The Hill has reached out to the IOC for comment.