Thread by @YaxueCao

Thoughts on what will happen to #PengShuai, drawing from my experience as a long-time Chinese human rights advocate. chinachange.org/2021/12/01/wha…
@WTA @ChrissieEvert @naomiosaka @DjokerNole @Tennis @tingdc @SophieHRW @TheDragonFeeder

For China, Peng Shuai’s revelation, the timing of it, and the overwhelming reaction from outside of China is an unexpected political disaster. The 2022 Winter Olympics has been met w/ persistent calls for boycott, the Peng Shuai incident could not have come at a worse time. 2/

By now, there must have been scores of govt officials, sports officials, coaches, friends, relatives, and perhaps even national security agents, who have spoken to her, convincing her of what a terrible mistake she has made to the detriment of China. 3/

To deal with a political accident such as this, the CCP’s standard modus operandi is suppression & cover up. We've already seen it at work. Meanwhile, China is taking aim at the WTA as the main target of its wrath and attack. And this is why: the WTA is not like the NBA. 4/

Peng Shuai's virtual meeting w/ @ioc is the equivalent of a CCTV confession. If China can get the IOC to do the job, isn't that infinitely better than CCTV or CGTN doing it? 5/

If Peng Shuai gets to leave China ever again to play tennis, she'll be sealed off by minders. WTA & her tennis friends won't be able to speak to her freely. She’s 35, China will likely force her to retire and disappear from public view. 6/

Let's not kid ourselves about "verifiable" evidence of Peng Shuai's wellbeing, or "transparent" investigation of her allegations. Look, we have a pandemic from Wuhan that has been ravaging the whole world, and we can't get China to investigate its origin. Forget about it. 7/

When dealing w/ China, we are doing nothing if all we do is appeal to the communist regime to do the right thing & move on to the next day; we are only beginning to do something when we start setting benchmarks, exploring the leverage we have and applying it to confront China. 8/

BTW, you have not heard and will not hear from any Chinese tennis player expressing solidarity with Peng Shuai: By now they — each one of them — have been warned by the Chinese govt not to. 9/end

Another question to ask: Does #PengShuai know about the outpouring global support for her & @WTA's decision to suspend tournaments in China in solidarity w/ her? Probably NOT. Keeping her in dark, isolating her from news would be in character for the Chinese govt. @PatrickMcEnroe