Federal Senator encourages participation in ‘entirely appropriate’ Australian Open protests

(Image: Twitter/@badiucao)

A Federal Senator in encouraging people to go to the Australian Open and protest about the treatment of Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai.

The Chinese player last year accused a senior Chinese Communist Party official of sexual assault then disappeared from public life for months. While videos and photos of her have since emerged on Chinese state media, concerns about her welfare remain.

Two protestors who carried a banner and wore t-shirts featuring Peng Shuai’s face on a wanted poster and ‘Where is Peng Shuai?’ written on the back at the tournament on the weekend were asked to remove the shirts and had their banner confiscated, and police were called.

Chair of Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, Senator James Paterson, says the protest is “entirely appropriate” and he “would encourage” more people to take part.

“I think it’s an entirely appropriate thing to do in a free country like Australia – to express our sincere and genuine concern over the welfare of an athlete,” Mr Paterson told Neil Mitchell.

The Liberal Senator questioned what’s behind Tennis Australia’s harsh approach towards the Peng Shuai protesters.

“I’m incredibly cynical about the motives of Tennis Australia here, who have told us that their number one priority is Peng Shuai’s health and wellbeing, and at the same time they’re banning people from wearing t-shirts that express concern about her welfare and wellbeing,” he said.

“It’s inappropriate for Tennis Australia to say this is a political issue. There’s nothing political about an alleged sexual assault – it’s a criminal manner and it should be investigated and Peng Shuai’s welfare investigated.”

Those behind the protest have not been dissuaded by Tennis Australia’s harsh approach. They plan to print and distribute 1000 of the t-shirts to other tennis-goers during the Australian Open finals.

Press PLAY below to hear why Mr Paterson encourages people to protest 

Activist vows to continue Peng Shuai protest after controversial action from Tennis Australia