Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai has been talking to Olympic officials since the Beijing Winter Games and wants to tour Europe soon, IOC President Thomas Bach said on Friday.
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An allegation of sexual harassment by a Chinese Communist Party official last November has caused a great deal of confusion for Peng’s Olympic organizers, and his interview with a French journalist in Beijing to withdraw his own claim and later visit a medal event with Bach has not dispelled any doubts about his personal safety.
A social media hashtag “Where is Peng Shuai?” The campaign has been going on since February.
Asked about Peng’s recovery at an online press conference, Bach said Peng made a phone call earlier this month to members of the IOC Athletes Commission who had been in “second or third” contact with him since the Olympics.
“He is looking forward to coming to Europe and visiting the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, in particular,” the IOC leader said.
Bach noted that strict public health and quarantine policy in China during the Cavid-19 epidemic could complicate Peng’s travel plans.
“We have to see how it develops. We have always said communication is ongoing, ”he said.
However, WTA Tour chief Steve Simon said his agency had not contacted the tennis player.
“We have no recent contact with Peng and the world has not seen Peng since the Olympics,” Simon told a tennis podcast.
. “I don’t think you can change the world by moving away from problems. You have to change. It may not be what we want it to be. But we need to find a solution that finds a balance that allows us to go back. And see progress in the area. “
“We are committed to finding a solution to this. We want to find a resolution that makes Peng feel comfortable, the Chinese government can feel comfortable with it, and we can feel comfortable with it.”
“We are not about to move away from China. We have just suspended our activities there. We will continue until we reach a resolution.
“We remain committed. We hope to get back there in 2023. The resolution shows that progress has been made in space. If we can achieve that, it is a victory for the world.”
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