Friday | December 3rd, 2021
It’s Friday, December 3rd, and this is your Morning Wire. Listen to the full podcast:
1) Women’s Tennis Association Suspends Events in China Over Human Rights Abuses
The Topline: Concern over the safety of Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai has prompted the suspension of all Women’s Tennis Association events in China.
Quote Of The Day: “We’re planning to suspend our events until such time that the Chinese authorities do the appropriate thing.”
– Chairman and CEO Steve Simon making the announcement this week.
Zhong Zhi/Getty Images
Background
On November 2nd, female tennis pro Peng Shaui posted on Chinese social media that a former Vice Premier of the Chinese Communist Party sexually assaulted her three years ago following a round of tennis, while his wife allegedly guarded the door. Peng’s post was quickly deleted 30 and her account was blocked to searchers.
Afterwards, she wasn’t heard from or seen in public for days, which raised concern over her safety, including from fellow tennis stars who posted to social media raising the alarm over her whereabouts.
On November 20th, videos of Peng were published by Chinese state media, which showed her eating at a restaurant and attending a youth tennis tournament in Beijing. She later had a call with Thomas Bach, head of the International Olympics Committee, in which Peng said she was “safe and well.”
Despite her assurances, it was widely believed that she was being pressured by the Communist Party to say she wasn’t in danger.
WTA Announcement
Following the IOC’s call with Peng, Chairman and CEO of the WTA Steve Simon said the video “does not change our call for a full, fair and transparent investigation, without censorship, into her allegation of sexual assault.”
In the past few weeks, Simon has stated the WTA is willing to to pull business out of China if her accusations of sexual assault are not investigated and “until we have a chance to speak with [her] directly.”
On Tuesday, he suspended all WTA tournaments in China, including in Hong Kong, which is significant because the Winter Olympics are scheduled to begin in Beijing on February 4th.
On Wednesday, the IOC said they held a second call with Peng offering their support, and they reported she was “safe and well given the difficult situation she is in.” But at this point, the WTA isn’t taking anyone’s word until they speak to Peng directly.
Big Picture
This move is largely unprecedented. American sports leagues have been reluctant to stand up to the Chinese government in the past, largely due to the money they stand to lose.
Over the past month, Boston Celtics player Enes Kanter has been outspoken about freedom in Hong Kong, Tibet, and Taiwan, and now Celtics games have been dropped from streaming platforms in China.
Qilai Shen/Bloomberg/Contributor via Getty Images
2) China Expands Surveillance System
The Topline: Amid continued concerns about China’s oppressive tactics, the communist regime is reportedly projected to have one surveillance camera for every two people in the country by 2022.
‘Traffic Light’ System
China will use a “traffic-light” system in its efforts to monitor journalists and “other people of concern.”
According to documents viewed by BBC News, the system puts journalists in one province into one of three categories: green, yellow, and red. According to the documents, those put in the “red” category would be “dealt with accordingly.” Yellow means people of general concern, and green means journalists who “aren’t harmful.”
The “traffic light” system would trigger alerts the moment journalists in the red or yellow category book travel in the Henan province.
Foreign students and migrants are also being monitored, with this technology including facial-recognition connected to thousands of cameras, linked to multiple databases of people already being tracked.
Data
Those designing the system are attempting to obtain massive amounts of information, including cell phone data, social media information, vehicle details, hotel stays, travel tickets, property, and all photos from existing databases.
The system is also reportedly expected to be able to identify people even if their faces are partially covered by glasses or masks.
Last year, reports stated the Chinese company Huawei had tested artificial intelligence software with the ability to recognize Uighur Muslims and alert law enforcement based solely on their racial identity.
Yuki IWAMURA/YUKI IWAMURA/Contributor/AFP via Getty Images
3) NYC Creates Supervised Injection Sites
The Topline: New York City will be the first city in the U.S. to provide drug addicts with “injection sites.”
The Details
New York City is becoming the first city in the nation to offer supervised injection sites, rather than handing out clean needles to drug users. Other major U.S. cities, such as Philadelphia and San Francisco, appear to be moving toward supervised injection,
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