Disappearance of Peng Shuai

On 2 November 2021, Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai published a lengthy message on her Weibo account describing an extramarital relationship with Zhang Gaoli, a retired Chinese vice premier and former member of the Politburo Standing Committee. According to media reports and screenshots preserved after the post was deleted, Peng wrote that Zhang, who was 40 years her senior, had pressed her to have sex with him three years earlier, and described a resumed relationship that later ended, culminating in a dispute on 30 October 2021. She stated she had no audio or video evidence of the relationship. Her post was removed from Weibo within roughly 20 to 30 minutes, and subsequent online references to Peng were censored in China.

Following the post, Peng largely disappeared from public communication, later appearing only through state media footage, a disputed email, and limited interviews. When asked about her whereabouts, Chinese foreign ministry spokespeople Wang Wenbin and Zhao Lijian both said the matter was "not a diplomatic question." This drew international concern, including from WTA chief executive Steve Simon, who on 14 November called for an investigation and an end to censorship of the topic; the Chinese Tennis Association responded that Peng was safe. The hashtag #WhereIsPengShuai began circulating on 12 November and was amplified by tennis players including Novak Djokovic, Naomi Osaka, Serena Williams, Andy Murray, Billie Jean King, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

On 17 November, Chinese state media released an email purportedly from Peng to Simon denying the assault allegation, which the WTA and outside observers questioned for authenticity. State media figures, including Global Times editor Hu Xijin, later released videos and photos depicting Peng in public settings, which the WTA said did not resolve concerns about her ability to communicate freely. The International Olympic Committee held video calls with Peng on 21 November and 1 December 2021, reporting she said she was safe, though it did not release footage of the second call; human rights groups, including Human Rights Watch and Safeguard Defenders, criticized the IOC's approach as insufficient given China's history of forced "proof of life" statements involving disappeared people.

On 1 December 2021, the WTA announced a suspension of all tournaments in mainland China and Hong Kong, citing unresolved concerns about Peng's ability to communicate without censorship or coercion. Peng later gave interviews with Singapore's Lianhe Zaobao (December 2021) and France's L'Équipe (February 2022), in both denying she had ever accused anyone of sexual assault and describing the matter as a misunderstanding; observers, including one of the L'Équipe interviewers, expressed doubts about the conditions under which these interviews were conducted. Peng also appeared at the 2022 Winter Olympics and met with IOC president Thomas Bach. In April 2023, the WTA announced it would resume tournaments in China, citing assurances that Peng was living safely with her family in Beijing, a decision reported by the Guardian as effectively conceding to commercial pressure. At the time covered by the account, Zhang Gaoli had not been charged, and no independent investigation into Peng's allegation had been confirmed to have taken place.