Author: Chris Lehorit
AP Sports Writer
Wimbledon, England (AP) — Four activists wearing “Where’s Peng Shuai?” T-shirts were stopped by security at Wimbledon on July 4 and their bags were searched.
Peng, a retired professional tennis player from China, accused a former senior member of the country’s ruling Communist Party of sexual assault last year. Since then, she has made few public appearances.
A similar incident occurred at this year’s Australian Open with a man wearing a T-shirt in support of Peng. A spectator in Melbourne was removed from the venue, but the event later reversed its decision to allow people to wear the clothes as long as they did not gather in large groups or cause trouble for other spectators.
Jason Leith of Free Tibet said he and three of his colleagues donned white T-shirts after entering the All England Club grounds.
“We didn’t wear these when we came in because we were worried about not being allowed in. So we put them on and we just walked around and a couple of people wanted to take selfies with us, so we were taking pictures with people,” Liss said, adding that he is British.
Security arrived shortly after, as the four men were walking under a large screen at the foot of Mount Henman, Leith said.
“(They) started asking, ‘Are you going to protest directly? Are you going to break things?'” Liss said. “Then they asked, ‘Oh, would you mind coming over and we search your bag?'”
“So they started checking our luggage. I guess they were looking for flags. They were looking for anything that might be used for any other kind of protest.”
Rice said the men were allowed to stay on the grass court and continue to wear their jerseys, but were asked not to approach any other spectators to talk about Peng.
“It’s kind of weird. Why aren’t we allowed to talk to people?” said Leith, director of revenue and engagement for Free Tibet.
Wimbledon organizers said activists were welcome to remain at the venue.
All England Club chief executive Sally Bolton said on the first day of the game that a spectator who mentioned Peng in his shirt would be allowed to attend.
“We do have ground entry rules, and those ground entry rules are really focused on everybody enjoying tennis quietly,” Bolton said. “So it’s not about what people wear; it’s about how people behave.”
Peng disappeared from public view last year after accusing former Communist Party official Zhang Gaoli of sexual assault. Her allegations were quickly removed from the internet, and discussions about it remain heavily censored.
Peng has won two Grand Slam doubles titles in her career, including at Wimbledon in 2013.
The Women’s Professional Tennis Tour has canceled matches in China due to Peng’s situation.
Last year, Liss was arrested in Greece for disrupting the Olympic flame ceremony. Ahead of this year’s Beijing Winter Olympics, the torch will head to China.
