Editor’s note for Thursday, November 18, 2021

My thoughts today:

There is a remarkable global backlash underway against the apparent disappearance of tennis star Péng Shuài 彭帅 after her #MeToo allegations against former vice premier Zhāng Gāolì 张高丽.

The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), founded by Billie Jean King — one of the world’s earliest vocally feminist athletes — has been outspoken in its support for Peng over the past two days. This is in stark contrast to other sporting bodies and companies that have tended to throw activists and troublemakers under the bus at the earliest opportunity when it comes to trouble in China.

And it’s not that the WTA has nothing to lose: They hold lucrative events in China such as the Shenzhen Open, and one of their major sponsors is Chinese video streaming site iQiyi.

A more assertive and paranoid China is what we can look forward to: That is one of the takeaways from the Chinese Communist Party’s “historical resolution” released this week per Trivium China: “The resolution paints the world as a threatening place…For Xi, this means that China needs to be more assertive on the world stage.”

Another reading of the resolution from the Wall Street Journal says the document shows an “unequivocal stand against Western democracy.”

As if to back up these interpretations, today Chinese state media reported (in English, Chinese) on a Politburo meeting, chaired by the Chairman of Everything Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 of course, “to review documents including the National Security Strategy.” The takeaway: China needs more national security. If you’re paying attention, you know what that means.

Our word of the day is Where is Peng Shuai? (彭帅在哪里 Péng Shuài zài nǎlǐ)

—Jeremy Goldkorn, Editor-in-Chief