Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas had some harsh words for China Sunday as questions swirled about the whereabouts of the country’s tennis star Peng Shuai.
The Wimbledon champ and three-time Olympian went missing early this month after accusing a former top Chinese official of sexual assault, and subsequent efforts by Chinese authorities to prove she’s safe only aroused further suspicion.
“I really hope our young men and women, that they go over there and kick their commie [butts]. We need to win in the Olympics,” Cruz said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”
He seemed to agree with President Biden’s decision not to boycott the 2022 Winter Olympics, set to be held in Beijing, but to refrain from sending top government officials instead.
“We [should] actually show the courage the Women’s Tennis Association is showing to call out the murder, the genocide, the torture, the lies, the complicity in COVID-19 of the Chinese Communist government to speak the truth,” said Cruz, who’s considered a possible 2024 presidential candidate.
While the International Olympic Committee has been widely criticized for its muted response to Peng’s disappearance, the women’s professional tennis tour has strongly demanded proof she can move about of her own free will.
Peng told Olympic officials in a video call from Beijing that she was safe, the IOC said Sunday.
Sunday’s call — with IOC President Thomas Bach, Athletes Commission Chairwoman Emma Terho and IOC member Li Lingwei, a former vice president of the Chinese Tennis Association — appeared to be Peng’s first direct contact with sports officials outside China since she vanished from public view Nov. 2.
She “thanked the IOC for its concern about her well-being,” the Switzerland-based Olympic body said in a statement.
Peng’s case adds to a growing number of Chinese business leaders, activists and ordinary people who have disappeared in recent years after criticizing party figures or participating in crackdowns on corruption or pro-democracy and labor rights campaigns.
With News Wire Services
