Peng Shuai emerges at Olympics, gives controlled interview

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By JOHN LEICESTER

BEIJING (AP) — Nothing to see here, move on.

That was the message that Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai delivered Monday in a controlled interview in Beijing that touched on sexual assault allegations she made against a former high-ranking member of China’s ruling Communist Party. Her answers — delivered in front of a Chinese Olympic official — left unanswered questions about her well-being and what exactly happened.

The interview with French sports newspaper L’Equipe and an announcement that International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach met Peng for dinner this weekend seemed aimed at allaying sustained international concerns about the three-time Olympian and former No. 1-ranked tennis doubles player. Fears for Peng’s safety have threatened to overshadow the Winter Olympics underway in Beijing.

Peng told L’Equipe that the concerns were the result of “an enormous misunderstanding.” But the format of the interview appeared to limit follow-ups about the allegations and their aftermath. L’Equipe said it submitted questions in advance, a precondition for the interview, but also got to ask others that were unplanned. A Chinese Olympic committee official sat in on the discussion, translating Peng’s comments from Chinese, the newspaper said. It said it also used an interpreter in Paris to ensure the accuracy of the comments that it published in French.



FILE - China's Peng Shuai serves to Japan's Nao Hibino during their first round singles match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, on Jan. 21, 2020. The whereabout of Peng remains a pressing question at the Beijing Olympics. Peng’s accusations of sexual assault months ago against former vice premier Zhang Gaoli, once a member of the all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee, were scrubbed almost immediately from the internet in China. (AP Photo/Andy Brownbill, File)


Read more: https://apnews.com/article/peng-shuai-controlled-interview-olympics-36722c749b176f228a1db8f39678cc2f

[crickets]

1. Well, she's alive at least -- if on a very tight leash. My heart goes out to her. nt

[Ford_Prefect]

2. Uh-Huh!!? Mighty heavy handed monitoring IMO.

I wish that someone who could listen to the nuances of Peng Shuai's remarks in Chinese could comment on what she didn't say, or what she did say that isn't exactly what you'd expect. Perhaps how different what she said is from less formally contorted conversation.

[melm00se]

3. 2022 Olympics: Peng Shuai is in trouble, no matter what the IOC or Chinese government says

https://sports.yahoo.com/peng-shuai-is-in-trouble-no-matter-what-the-ioc-or-chinese-government-says-071156174.html

[DinahMoeHum]

4. Sorry. Not buying this propaganda BS

[AZLD4Candidate]

7. Having lived in China and going back, I have a hard time agreeing with you

[Alexander Of Assyria]

5. What exactly is a "controlled interview"? AP? She said what she said...AP calling her a liar?

Explain, AP, or stick to news, not opinion.

[Happy Hoosier]

8. That headline is accurate.

And they did explain. She gave the interview in the presence of a Chinese official. Reporters were limited in ther ability to question her and ask follow-ups.

You carrying a torch for China?

[AZLD4Candidate]

9. I lived in China and will be going back soon to be with my wife

This response from the poster responding to the OP knows nothing about media manipulation in China.

As I said in another post in November:

In a "news" article I read in the English version of China Daily, they actually said "Facebook is blocked in Eritrea, North Korea, and one other country. (emphasis mine) They did not mention that they were the one other country.

That's how news as propaganda works. Also, the word propaganda in China has been manipulated into meaning "information." So, the CCP's Propaganda Department literally translates, in English, to "Department of Information."

I love the Chinese people. Their government, not so much. Most people I spoke to in China even consider their government and the CCP a bunch of thieving murderers.

[Hekate]

10. A "controlled interview" is exactly what it says. In an authoritarian country "news" is very...

… tightly controlled. She had a political handler with her to make sure she didn’t break protocol again.