A global clamour is growing, which even the closed ears of Beijing’s totalitarian elite have found impossible to shut out. ‘Where is Peng Shuai,’ the world wants to know. And ‘Is Peng Shuai safe?’

For those still unaware, Peng is the Chinese tennis star who disappeared from public view three weeks ago, after using local social media to accuse one of the country’s former vice-premiers of committing a serious sexual assault on her.

It was instructive to see the consequences of her whistleblowing. It was also chilling.

Much has been said and written by Chinese apologists, partners and investors about the nation’s technological and infrastructure advancements. However, it is evident that the Chinese regime takes a different approach towards female emancipation than the Western ones and is responding to #MeToo.

Peng is the Chinese tennis star who disappeared from public view three weeks ago, after using local social media to accuse one of the country’s former vice-premiers of committing a serious sexual assault on her

Peng is the Chinese tennis star who disappeared from public view three weeks ago, after using local social media to accuse one of the country’s former vice-premiers of committing a serious sexual assault on her

What is also clear, though, is that the Chinese regime has a very different approach to female emancipation and the exigencies of the #MeToo era

It is clear that China has an entirely different approach to female empowerment and meets the demands of #MeToo.

Evidence suggests that, if a woman accuses a Politburo male member of sexual abuse, it is not likely for the party apparatus to raise concern or launch an investigation. It certainly won’t apologise. Oder you can just ignore it. Beijing’s solution seems to be to make the complainant go away. This will make the problem disappear. All online traces of the kerfuffle will be suppressed or hidden behind the so-called Great Firewall of China — the state’s digital censorship arm.

If the woman in question is just another face of the crowd, an absolute nobody in a larger population than one million, then this policy will be relatively simple and not intrusive.

It is less easy to carry off without wider comment when the accuser happens to be Peng Shuai, a genuine international star — and heroine to millions of Chinese at home and abroad. It’s difficult to remove her from the current consciousness or history.

She has two singles titles and 23 doubles titles. This includes the 2013 Wimbledon championship and the 2014 French Open. The U.S. Open saw her reach the semi-finals in singles. She is the third Chinese tennis player to make it this far in Grand Slams. She reached the top of singles rankings at 14.

She was only noticed by a few people until her extraordinary actions earlier in the month.

Tennis star Peng Shuai accused Zhang Gaoli, Former Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China, of rape

Zhang Gaoli is the former Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China

Tennis star Peng Shuai accused Zhang Gaoli (right), Former Vice Premier of the People’s Republic of China, of rape

Peng Shuai, 35, was said to have disappeared when her social media profiles were scrubbed following the accusation

On November 2, Peng posted an incendiary statement on Weibo, the Chinese microblogging site. In it she accused Zhang Gaoli, a member from 2012 to 2018 of the country’s most powerful political body, the seven-man Politburo Standing Committee, of sexual assault.

Peng Shuai (35), was allegedly to have vanished after her social media accounts were deleted following the accusations

Peng made an incendiary post on Weibo (the Chinese microblogging website) on November 2. In it she accused Zhang Gaoli, a member from 2012 to 2018 of the country’s most powerful political body, the seven-man Politburo Standing Committee, of sexual assault.

Zhang claims that she was involved in an extramarital affair for several years with her. Zhang wanted this secret.

Zhang, now at 75, had taken over the Communist Party ranks and ended their relationship. Peng said that Peng expressed concerns about Peng’s possibility of tapetaping their meetings. He had spoken to her once again three years prior. He invited her to tennis, she said.

Peng said she was then sexually assaulted at Zhang’s home. ‘I never consented that afternoon, crying all the time,’ she recalled. It was almost like rape.

Peng wrote that she couldn’t provide evidence to underpin her allegation, but was determined to speak out.

‘Like an egg hitting a rock, or a moth to the flame, courting self-destruction, I’ll tell the truth about you,’ she warned Zhang.

The post was deleted by state censors within half an hour and Peng’s Weibo account went dark. The Chinese internet was also swiftly ‘cleansed’ of references to the star; comments about her were disabled and other keywords blocked.

However, it was too late. Peng’s J’accuse had gone viral.

It was probably inevitable that the next step would be taken. Certainly, it was straight out of the Chinese Communist Party’s playbook. Peng disappeared also. Peng also disappeared from view. The Chinese foreign ministry and state media did not report on the incident. Zhang was silent as well.

Days passed. Fears about her increased. The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) threatened to pull out of tournaments in China altogether.

Chief executive Steve Simon said he had received ‘assurances’ from the Chinese Tennis Association that Peng was ‘safe and not under any physical threat’. The WTA could not contact Peng to verify that.

Simon made clear that the WTA expected an investigation into Peng’s claims. ‘This is bigger than the business,’ he said. ‘Women need to be respected and not censored.’

There was more furore. It became a viral hashtag, #whereisPengShuai. Serena Williams, Martina Navratilova and other tennis icons added their voice to the conversation.

This scrutiny led to the Chinese authorities changing their strategies. Last Wednesday, China’s state-run English-language outlet, the China Global Television Network, published a letter on Twitter, which it claimed was sent from Peng to the WTA boss.

It read: ‘Regarding the recent news released on the official website of the WTA, the content has not been confirmed or verified by myself and it was released without my consent.

‘The news in that release, including the allegation of sexual assault, is not true. I’m not missing, nor I am unsafe. I’ve just been resting at home and everything is fine. Thank you again for caring about me.’

In the screenshot, you can see a cursor within the text. WTA denied that Peng wrote the letter. They were more concerned about Peng’s safety after her tweet.

Chinese human rights activists claimed that the language was very similar to what is used in forced confessions of Chinese prisoners.

Propaganda counter-offensive continues. Four undated photos of Peng smiling were posted on Friday by a Chinese state-affiliated account to Twitter. Over the weekend, Chinese state media outlets released a flurry of videos on social media that purported to show Peng, safe and unconcerned — if not entirely unaware — of the global fears for her wellbeing.

On Sunday, the Global Times editor posted video of Peng smiling at a Beijing junior tennis tournament.

Video of the same journalist eating in a city restaurant was released by another. According to observers, the scene was staged with the conversation being stilted in order to emphasize that the event took place on Saturday.

Another image showed her signing tennis balls. One of the images was tweeted by the Paris correspondent from a Chinese-affiliated outlet. This was not for domestic consumption, as with all Peng-related output. China has blocked Twitter

On Sunday, Peng appeared before foreign officials for the first-time since her disappearance. She had a 30 minute video call with Thomas Bach, president of IOC. Their conversation only raised more questions than it answered.

Not all those questions are about Beijing’s human rights record and Peng’s safety.

These concerns powerful corporations and global organizations that seem unwilling to condemn China’s economic abuses. Financially, there is too much at stake.

In a statement released after the video call, the IOC said of Peng: ‘(She) was doing fine, which was our main concern.’

IOC issued a single still photo of the conversation rather than the full video. The image showed the back of Bach’s head and, on screen, Peng smiling at him.

‘At the beginning of the 30-minute call, Peng Shuai thanked the IOC for its concern about her wellbeing,’ the IOC statement recounted.

‘She explained that she is safe and well, living at her home in Beijing, but would like to have her privacy respected at this time. She prefers to spend her time with friends and family right now,’ it said. ‘Nevertheless, she will continue to be involved in tennis.’

Also in on the call was the IOC Athletes’s Commission chair, Emma Terho.

‘She appeared to be relaxed,’ Terho said in the statement. ‘I offered her our support and to stay in touch at any time of her convenience, which she obviously appreciated.’ All’s fine. Move along there’s nothing to see. Respect Peng’s privacy, please.

The IOC statement might have been written by President Xi’s propaganda department, such was its anodyne tone and lack of inquiry or insight.

Do you think all is well? Steve Simon from the WTA, and other China watchers say otherwise.

He said: ‘It was good to see Peng Shuai in recent videos, but they don’t alleviate or address the WTA’s concern about her wellbeing and ability to communicate without censorship or coercion.

The former doubles world number one signed giant tennis balls at a children's tournament in Beijing on Sunday

On Sunday, at the Beijing Children’s Tournament, former number one doubles tennis player signed gigantic tennis balls.

‘This video does not change our call for a full, fair and transparent investigation, without censorship, into her allegation of sexual assault, which is the issue that gave rise to our initial concern.’

Who was responsible for setting up the video conference? Which parameters was the IOC willing to accept? Peng spoke when Peng wasn’t there. Is she acting in coercion at the time she spoke?

All of these important points weren’t addressed. These points are even important for the IOC. That organisation has a lot on its hands.

Peng joined IOC President Thomas Bach for a Zoom call on Sunday. The IOC said it 'was relieved to see that Peng Shuai was doing fine'

Peng joined IOC President Thomas Bach for a Zoom call on Sunday. According to the IOC, it was’relieved to find that Peng Shuai is doing well’

The 2022 Winter Olympics will be held in a few months. You know where it is. It’s obvious. Beijing.

Thanks to the pandemic, the IOC posted a $55 million (£40 million) revenue deficit in 2020 because of the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics, which took place without spectators this year. IOC cannot afford another financial crisis.

At its headquarters in Lausanne Switzerland, however, requests for Beijing to boycott human rights violations are ignored.

Thomas Bach invited Peng along to dinner during the video conference, before the celebrations in Beijing next month.

Peng Shuai (second left) showed up at the opening ceremony of a teenager tennis match final in Beijing on Sunday morning

Peng Shuai, second left (second from top) was present at Sunday’s opening ceremony for a final of teenager tennis in Beijing.

‘She gladly accepted,’ the IOC statement cooed. It was so convivial. So long as Peng can attend the authorities’ meetings, that is. Human Rights Watch described the video call as ‘disturbing’.

But not everyone is critical of the IOC’s limited intervention. On yesterday’s Radio 4 Today programme Sebastian Coe made a case for what he called ‘quiet diplomacy’.

Former athletic legend, who was chair of both the London 2012 Organising Committee (British Olympic Association) and World Athletics, is now the head.

Lord Coe said it was better for Bach to ‘reach out and achieve what he did yesterday’.

Coe described the possibility of a diplomatic boycott, which has been mooted in the U.S. and in Britain by such figures as former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith, as a ‘hollow’ and ‘rather meaningless gesture’.

He added: ‘Nobody, me included, has taken lightly the importance of human rights. [But]I believe it’s better to take advantage of global opportunities. And the Olympic Games, arguably, the greatest, is one way to do this. [in person] and if necessary, firmly.’

What is Beijing’s next move? Is it possible for a single woman, who was allegedly assaulted by senior members of the party, to escape unscathed in Beijing?

Peng Shuai’s fate, upon whom so much international angst, politicking, and political machinations are focused at the moment is unknown.

Seven people including Peng were at the Sichuanese restaurant, said the manager, Zhou Hongmei

Peng (in white) ate with her companions in a private room

Zhou Hongmei (the manager) said seven people were present at Sichuanese Restaurant, Peng included. She added that they had ate in a private area and were joined the restaurant owner.