(Bloomberg) — Australian Open organizers reversed a ban on political slogans on t-shirts following criticism of the removal of some attendees for displaying messages supporting Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai.
Tennis Australia on Tuesday said it would now allow spectators to wear such statements on t-shirts, as long as they behaved themselves at the Melbourne event. Two people were ejected from a weekend match for wearing shirts saying “Where is Peng Shuai?”
Australia’s Defence Minister Peter Dutton weighed into the debate on Tuesday, saying the spectators’ removal was “deeply concerning” and more attention needed to be brought to Peng’s situation. He called for more people to speak up in support of her, including celebrities and governments.
“We need to speak as one voice on this,” Dutton said in a Sky News interview. “It wouldn’t be tolerated in any other country and I think we need to really put those human rights focus first and foremost.”
There have been concerns for Peng’s wellbeing since she disappeared after posting a 1,500-character essay alleging a sexual relationship with a former high-ranking Communist Party official. Peng later reappeared in state-run media where she backtracked on her previous statements.
The two attendees that were asked to leave the Open were later identified as associates of Australian senate candidate and anti-Chinese Communist Party activist Drew Pavlou. One of them is planning to run as candidate in a general election that must be called by May.
Tennis Australia had earlier said it was part of the terms and conditions of attendance at the tournament that people not display political or commercial statements.
The t-shirt row is the second notable controversy to hit the Open after world mens’ no. 1 Novak Djokovic was deported after the government canceled the unvaccinated player’s visa.
Diplomatic relations between Australia and China have deteriorated in recent years. The Australian government has repeatedly criticised Beijing over allegations of human rights abuses in Hong Kong and the western region of Xinjiang.
After Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s government called for an investigation into the origins of Covid-19 in 2020, Australian exports began to encounter difficulties in Chinese ports, including processing delays, investigations and high tariffs.
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