Chinese
tennis player Peng Shuai has become a forbidden topic since levelling
allegations of sexual harassment against the country’s former vice premier Zhang
Gaoli. China’s online propaganda machine has nearly wiped her presence from the
internet, with searches for words like tennis hardly leading to any stories related
to the three-time Olympian.

She is not
the first celebrity to be censored in the country, which has in the past erased
online mentions of just about any person, according to a report in the New York
Times. However, Shuai’s international profile, coupled with the outrage against
her disappearance, has made it difficult to keep the issue buried.

Also Read | WTA suspends tournaments in China over Peng Shuai concerns

On
Wednesday, the Women’s Tennis Association suspended all future tournaments in
the country, with China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs saying the country was “opposed
to the politicization of sports”.

While
internet censorship has nearly banned all conversation about Shuai, Chinese
tennis fans have been cleverly dodging the censors to voice their frustration on
the matter. Fans have started using vague references to garner attention on the
silence on Shuai, using terms such as “a tennis player” and “the spat” to refer
to the matter.

There was
an unrelated post about art that used the expression “hitting an egg against a
rock”, echoing a line in Peng’s original allegation in which she wrote that taking
on someone as powerful as Gaoli is like “hitting a rock with an egg”.

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Some of the
biggest tennis stars have also voiced their frustrations and concerns surrounding
Shuai’s safety, adding to the challenges facing the state media to hush the
topic.

The Chinese
state media addressed some of the global concerns, which even got the attention
from the United Nations and the White house, by releasing pictures purportedly showing
Shuai happy and in no harm.

One of them
showed Shuai signing giant tennis balls for fans at a youth tournament. The post,
shared on the verified account of the Chinese Open, was shared nearly a thousand
times, with a veteran tennis expert in China saying “It’s the most reposted
youth tournament event post I’ve ever seen.”

Also Read | Peng Shuai videos don’t quash safety concerns: WTA

China,
which is also set to host the Winter Olympics next year, has hit out at the
western media and sports organisations, alleging they have been biased and
dishonest.

Julien Chen,
an avid Shuai fan, has been unsettled by the whole experience and questioned whether
her allegations will ever be investigated by the authorities. “We know these
kinds of things happen and we care about them. But most of us choose to remain
silent.”

“That’s the
reality in China,” he said.