Posted on by

China Turns to Olympic Committee as Peng Shuai Scandal Lingers



Share

When China’s leaders came under pressure to answer questions about the health and whereabouts of Peng Shuai, the Chinese tennis star, they turned to a friendly face.They put Ms. Peng on a video call with members of the International Olympic Committee, a global sports organization that for years has turned a blind eye to Beijing’s human rights record. True to their reputation, I.O.C. officials did not ask her about her claim that she had been sexually assaulted by a powerful former Communist Party leader, an allegation that led censors to scrub the details from the Chinese internet.Perhaps no international organization has a more symbiotic relationship with Beijing. The Chinese government treats its growing success in sports as symbolic of the country’s rise as a global power. The 2008 Beijing Olympics helped transform the world’s image of China, a feat the government hopes to replicate next month when the Winter Olympics begin near the same city.In return, Beijing provided the I.O.C. with …

Read More