Australian Open fans given 'Where is Peng Shuai?' shirts
Activists handed out 1,000 "Where is Peng Shuai?" T-shirts to spectators ahead of the Australian Open women's final Saturday to highlight a concern for the Chinese tennis star.
More than a week after security staff ordered activists inside the precinct to remove the shirts, the protesters returned with a thousand more to give to those arriving at Melbourne Park.
"We've handed out hundreds of T-shirts now for free and there's a lot of people going to the final wearing these shirts. They're excited," Drew Pavlou, one of the protest organisers, told AFP.
Pavlou said all the shirts had been handed to attendees as they filed into the park, in the hope of beaming the message onto screens around the world during the final.
"We just want Peng Shuai to be able to speak freely. We want for her to be able to travel outside China and speak to the press without Chinese government minders controlling that."
But as the final began, the live broadcast's brief glimpses of the crowd offered little sign of the shirts -- although several were spotted by an AFP photographer inside the Rod Laver Arena.
Peng, the former doubles world number one, is absent from Melbourne and there are fears for her wellbeing after she alleged online in November that she had been "forced" into sex by a Chinese former vice-premier during a years-long on-and-off relationship.
Her allegation was quickly censored and the 36-year-old was not heard from for nearly three weeks, before reappearing in public in China. But there are still concerns as to whether she is free.
Saturday's protest comes after the tournament chief Craig Tiley changed the competition's stance on "political" clothing -- deciding to allow the shirts inside as long as demonstrators remained peaceful.
Those who stopped to speak with Pavlou outside expressed concern for Peng's safety.
"No, I think if she was fine we would have seen her in person at possibly some tennis events," spectator Karen Gibson said.
In late December after Peng had reappeared in public, she denied making the allegation to Singaporean Chinese-language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao.
"I would like to stress a very important point: I have never said nor written anything accusing anyone of sexually assaulting me," the 35-year-old said in footage apparently filmed on a phone at a sports event in Shanghai
(责任编辑:关于我们)
- The Weird, Wonderful World of Water Towers
- Top 10 Tech Pranks
- First officially approved Gen IV nuclear reactor in the US breaks ground
- [Online Predators] Deepfake pornography haunts S. Korea
- Military prosecutors indict intel official over leaking 'black agent' info
- We Cannot Live Without Cryptography!
- When Are Next
- 实干担当抓落实 多措并举促发展
- How to trademark your TikTok phrase and protect your brand
- Yes, big spiders are spreading in the U.S. No, they're not flying.
- Is Mercury retrograde messing with you? Think again.
- 10 Places to Get to Know Paul Bunyan
- Microwave technique recovers 87% of batteries' lithium in 15 minutes
-
NASA says Earth just had the hottest day ever recorded
In the 1800s, pioneering scientists foresaw how carbon in the air could warm Earth. By 1938, English ...[详细] -
Transitioning to 100% renewable energy globally would be cheaper and simpler using firebricks, a for ...[详细]
-
With a new GPU generation not so far away, and new graphics cards coming from all three major chipma ...[详细]
-
I used the Pixel 9 Pro XL in the shower — does the screen work when wet as claimed?
The Pixel 9 Pro XL came out swinging with an impressive set of features that threaten Samsung and Ap ...[详细] -
NYT mini crossword answers for August 29
The Mini is a bite-sized version of The New York Times' revered daily crossword. While the crossword ...[详细] -
Weather update for second Pak vs Ban second Test match day one
ListentoarticleThe second Test between Pakistan and Bangladesh, part of the ICC World Test Champions ...[详细] -
Families of S. Korean detainees in NK appeal to embassies for support
Lee Shin-wha, former ambassador for international cooperation on North Korean human rights (center), ...[详细] -
特写|在农事定向大赛遇见和美乡村_南方+_南方plus随着“发现和众创乡村价值”的鸣笛声响起,上千名旅乡人和原乡人在茂名市高州分界镇杏花村开跑。大暑前夕,他们因2024年广东省第一届农事运动会·广东农 ...[详细]
-
The AI stock bubble has burst. Here's how we know.
When you live in tech bubble central, signs of a tech bubble become easier to spot every time. Drive ...[详细] -
[Exclusive] Samsung unsure of Suga's future as brand ambassador: source
Suga of BTS (right) holds the first Galaxy Fold 5 with Roh Tae-moon, president of Samsung Electronic ...[详细]
- 抖音超600万次传播量!广东省农事运动会乡村直播大赛火出圈
- When Are Next
- 提前谋划部署准备秋季开学
- Webb telescope discovers 6 rogue worlds. They didn't form the way you'd expect.
- Tesla considers adding a new ‘stuck detection' feature to Cybertruck. Here’s why.
- 雅安市第四人民医院:工娱治疗让患者康复之路充满希望
- Garmin Fenix 8 vs. Apple Watch Ultra: The Fenix wins big on battery life