Fans who are concerned with China’s horrendous human rights violations were silenced Monday. This didn’t happen on Chinese soil either. It happened in the United Kingdom. Wimbledon, no less.
Peng Shuai (Chinese tennis star) posted on social media last year that she’d been raped in her home by a senior Chinese communist leader. She disappeared from public for several days, and the social media message was scrubbed by China’s government censors. After her return she had disavowed the rape claims.
Shuai, who has not been seen since the end of last year is now missing. That prompted fans at the ongoing 2022 Wimbledon tennis tournament to wear “Where’s Shuai?” shirts. Wimbledon officials advised them to not speak with other Shuai fans.
That wasn’t the end of it. Wimbledon officials also searched the belongings of four men representing Free Tibet, a human rights organization. They were warned that if additional Shuai supporters wearing the same attire were spotted there would be a “problem.”
“Free speech, this is not,” wrote Anthony Farris, of the Outkick blog. The All-England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club’s actions were “inexcusable,” he added.
Farris also reports that Shuai is not being seen or heard from public since December. Free Tibet members raised public awareness about her plight previously at the Australian Open and are now “saying her name” in London.
In one of Shua’s last public comments, she said in a video, “First of all, I want to emphasize something that is very important. Shua never claimed that she had been sexually assaulted by anyone. I need to emphasize this point very clearly.” She was living in Beijing without any restrictions, she stated.
Farris says she was reading from a government document and was then forced to be an effective soldier, retracting her accusation. China’s all-powerful dictatorship likely forced her to submit to its autocratic rule. That’s the thinking of many observers.
Will Hoyles spoke out about the Wimbledon attendance of Free Tibetans in an interview for Telegraph Sport. “We were peacefully walking around the grounds, occasionally talking to people about Peng Shuai. People were supporting us greatly on the ground. We were receiving huge support from people all around the grounds. Security staff interrogated us at one point. When we told her we just talked to people, she said that Wimbledon would not allow us to contact people.
“Peng Shuai is still not free and WTA agrees,” Hoyles said. “Wimbledon should be speaking out for her release and not trying to stop tennis fans discussing human rights.”
The Wimbledon people acknowledged they spoke to the Free Tibet representatives Monday. “We can confirm that four guests were approached today by security whilst walking outside No. 1 Court. They are enjoying the day and can still wear their T-shirts. Like much of the tennis community and people around the world more broadly, we remain very concerned for Peng Shuai and we continue to support the WTA’s efforts.”
Nonetheless, Wimbledon officials said they wanted to remain “neutral” in the face of evil. If there was no problem on their part, they would not have singled out those calling attention to China’s human rights abominations. To remain neutral towards China means to give the evil one’s side.
Wimbledon officials allowed players to kneel in solidarity with Black Lives Matter during the 2020 tournament. Fans were criticized Monday for their solidarity with the Chinese oppression.
This is the takeaway: Solidarity with a Marxist Organization is good; solidarity with brutal communist regimes is bad.
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