The Censoring of Peng Shuai

<p>In November, Peng Shuai — one of China’s most popular tennis stars — took to Chinese social media to accuse Zhang Gaoli, who was a member of China’s seven-member ruling committee, of sexually assaulting her.</p><p>Within minutes, Chinese censors had taken down Ms. Peng’s post, and, for weeks, no one sees or hears from her.</p><p>We look at Ms. Peng’s story and what China’s attempts to censor her have meant for the sports industry.  </p><p>Guest: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/matthew-futterman?smid=pc-thedaily">Matthew Futterman</a>, a sports reporter for The New York Times.</p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/newsletters/signup/NTTD?smid=pc-thedaily">Sign up here</a> to get The Daily in your inbox each morning. And for an exclusive look at how the biggest stories on our show come together, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/newsletters/the-daily?module=inline">subscribe to our newsletter</a>. </p><p>Background reading: </p><ul><li>Chinese propaganda officials have tried to shape the global discussion of the tennis player Peng Shuai’s #MeToo accusations, but<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/12/08/world/asia/peng-shuai-china-censorship.html"> their top-down strategy has largely stumbled</a>.</li><li>The WTA has suspended its future tournaments in China and Hong Kong, as questions linger over Ms. Peng.<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/03/sports/peng-shuai-china-sports.html"> What major sports are still in China amid the scandal?</a></li></ul><p>For more information on today’s episode, visit <a href="http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily">nytimes.com/thedaily</a>. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. </p>