Beijing is angry at the WTA for pulling out of China. But it can't let Chinese people know about it

Analysis by Nectar Gan and Steve George / CNN / December 4, 2021

わたしのnoteにおいては、最新の科学・経済・社会等の問題に関して、英語の記事を引用し、その英文が読み易いように加工し、英語の勉強ツールと最新情報収集ツールとしてご利用頂くことをmain missionとさせて頂きます。勿論、私論を書かせて頂くこともしばしです。

[The women's professional tennis tour] just called it quits on China. But within China, there is no news about the decision, no public discussion as to why, nor any response from Chinese tennis fans.

In contrast to the blanket silence at home, China's government controlled-media lashed out at the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) on Twitter -- a platform blocked in China (中国ではTwitter使用は禁止されていて、一部の特別な人たちだけに使用が許されている) -- accusing the organization of "putting on an exaggerated show," and "supporting the West's attack on Chinese system." The two seemingly contradictory approaches (国内では情報を一切流さず、海外に対しては猛烈に抗議する) reflect the extreme sensitivity attached to the WTA's decision inside of China -- and the explosive [#MeToo (A Beijing court has thrown out a landmark sexual harassment case brought against one of the country's most famous TV hosts.) allegation] (申し立て、主張/æ̀ləgéiʃən) that sparked it (外に対して強く反発する). When Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai publicly accused ①former Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli of sexual assault on social media on November 2, the immediate response from authorities was to muffle (覆う、弱める、消す、包む、くるむ、抑える) her and censor even the vaguest allusion (言及、ほのめかし/əlúːʒən) to the allegation. But while that might have worked domestically, it served only to inflame reaction overseas.

Peng's prolonged disappearance from public view prompted the world's biggest tennis stars to demand answers to her whereabouts. In response, state media employees released a spate of "proof of life" photos and videos of Peng on Twitter, while authorities continue to censor all mention of her at home. The same approach was applied again on Thursday, when the WTA announced an immediate suspension of all tournaments in China, including Hong Kong, over Beijing's silencing of Peng's sexual assault allegations. Despite the state media firestorm on Twitter, Chinese social media platforms remained calm and quiet, with no sight of the nationalist rage that would usually engulf (巻き込む/engʌ́lf) parties that are deemed to have "offended China."

"China's external propaganda on this matter is like a paper box that cannot hold water in front of its own people," said ②Xiao Qiang, editor-in-chief of China Digital Times, a US-based news website tracking censorship in China. "How ironic that they hope to use this narrative to convince the international community." To experts who have long monitored and analyzed China's propaganda efforts, this apparently well-guarded parallel track (国内と国外への対応が両極) belies (偽って［事実を曲げて］伝える/bilái) a more chaotic reality. "We could talk here about a two-pronged (二又の) strategy, about how China has enforced complete silence at home while pushing a narrative externally about meddling (干渉する) journalists and the politicizing of sport. But to call it a strategy at all suggests a sophistication that is not really there," said ③David Bandurski, director of the China Media Project. "What we actually see is desperation, the editor-in-chief of one state-run newspaper rushing out on Twitter and banging his dishpan (ツイートしまくる). The point is to distract the world from obvious (明らかな、明白な、疑う余地のない、自明の/ɑ́bviəs) and damning (〔証拠などが〕悪事［有罪］を証明する) facts."

④Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of the government-owned nationalist tabloid Global Times, became the first state employee to challenge the WTA's decision Thursday -- but only on Twitter. "WTA is coercing Peng Shuai to support the West's attack on Chinese system. They are depriving Peng Shuai's freedom of expression, demanding that her description of her current situation must meet their expectation," ④Hu tweeted. That was followed by a Global Times "editorial" posted on Twitter in English, accusing the WTA of "expanding its influence in a speculative way, bringing politics into women's tennis deeply, setting a bad example for the entire sporting world." It did not mention what triggered the WTA's decision to pull out of China in the first place. The "editorial" wasn't posted on the newspaper's Chinese-language social media accounts, and only appeared on its English-language website late on Thursday night. But even then, it was hidden from the homepage, a far cry (懸け離れている、程遠い) from how editorials are usually displayed. In another English-language article, the Global Times said the Chinese Tennis Association (CTA) had expressed "indignation (憤り、憤慨/ìndignéiʃən) and firm opposition" to the WTA's decision. The CTA's response was not reported by Chinese language media, nor was it posted on the association's own website (The CTA did not respond to CNN's requests for comment). And at a news conference on Thursday, responding to a question about the WTA's withdrawal, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said "China has always been firmly opposed to any act that politicizes sports." But even that exchange was deleted from the official transcript of the Q&A on the ministry's website.

The lengths [Beijing has gone to hide its anger toward the WTA from the Chinese public] shows just how serious and sensitive the scandal is in the eyes of the ruling Communist Party -- especially before its twice-a-decade leadership reshuffle next fall, when President Xi Jinping is expected to seek a third term in power. As vice premier, ①Zhang, 75, served on the party's seven-person Politiburo Standing Committee -- the country's supreme leadership body -- alongside Xi from 2012 to 2017. "It's kind of been an external storm, and they wanted to keep the storm outside China," ③Bandurski said. "It's an extremely sensitive issue for the leadership. I think probably one of the most sensitive news stories that's happened in the last decade." The Chinese government's main concern is laid in plain view in ④Hu's tweet, which accused the WTA of attacking on the "Chinese system." "Fundamentally, this is about protecting the political system in China -- this is the only body that's of concern. It's not about the personal safety of Peng Shuai, or her rights as an individual, as a woman, as a citizen." ③Bandurski said. "Because as soon as they actually talk about this issue internally, people are going to ask: 'Well, what about ①Zhang Gaoli? Is it true? This is a high level official, why isn't anything happening to him? What is happening to him? Where is he?' And those questions immediately go to the heart of (the party's) power and legitimacy."

日本の総理大臣がセクハラで訴えられたとしても、これ程の騒ぎにはならないと思います。今回の事件は、中国共産党Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli のセクハラ事件の情報が国内で拡散すれば、共産党自体の崩壊のリスクを伴っていることを暗示しており、中国を潰すには、非常に洗練された色仕掛け作戦が有効かも？

Moments after the WTA announced it was pulling out of China in the early hours of Thursday, some Weibo users voiced support for the decision on the association's official Weibo account, under its old posts. (The WTA did not issue a Chinese version of its announcement on Weibo.)
"WTA has a strong spine!" one comment said. "Why hasn't this man been arrested. He really has super strong backing. It's absurd," the comment continued, apparently referencing ①Zhang. These comments were soon removed. By Thursday afternoon, the comment section under its two most recent posts had been disabled. "Someone is busy deleting posts," a user wrote under a third post, only for that to be deleted too, and the comments on the post disabled. The WTA's account -- which has more than 400,000 followers -- is still up on Weibo, but it has been blocked from search results.
While seemingly all powerful and sweeping, such censorship can come at a cost for the party, ③Bandurski said. "There's always a flip side to censorship, especially when you can see it happen, when you experience it. It's a demerit for the system," he said. "The most effective way to control is to have it happen invisibly, and you're not really aware of what you're missing."

In a way, the blanket censorship around Peng and the fallout (副産物、副次的な［予期しない］影響) also betrays Beijing's lack of confidence in its ability to spin the story and gain public support. Beijing has proved to be successful in rallying domestic support when faced with international criticism relating to Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet, chastising (厳しく非難する/tʃæstáiz) Western companies, organizations and governments for meddling in "China's internal affairs." On social media, nationalists often echo Beijing's fury, calling for boycotts of companies for "insulting China." But the Peng scandal is a different beast. Her allegation of sexual assault by a powerful man who once sat at the pinnacle of a patriarchal (男性に支配された/pèitriɑ́rkəl) system could potentially trigger a groundswell of outrage and sympathy within China, especially young women, many of whom have voiced support for victims in previous #MeToo cases (A Beijing court has thrown out a landmark sexual harassment case brought against one of the country's most famous TV hosts.). And if the Communist Party is too afraid to try and convince its own people, any attempt to influence the international audience will almost certainly fail, experts say. "The world has serious news media, there are serious political bodies -- like the United Nations and the European Union -- putting out statements (on Peng). And yet, all China has is ... almost entirely one man and a handful of Twitter accounts," ③Bandurski said. "It's very raucous (乱暴な、混乱した/rɔ́kəs). It's very non-strategic. And I think in that sense, it's incredibly foolish."