Peng Shuai saga hews to familiar script in China

FILE - Interpol President, Meng Hongwei, walks toward the stage to deliver his opening address at the Interpol World Congress in Singapore, July 4, 2017. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E, File)

FILE - China's Peng Shuai makes a forehand return to Japan's Nao Hibino during their first round singles match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2020. (AP Photo/Andy Brownbill, File)

FILE - Model Fan Bing Bing arrives for the screening of Rust and Bone at the 65th international film festival, in Cannes, southern France, Thursday, May 17, 2012. (AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau, File)

FILE - Chairman of Alibaba Group Jack Ma speaks during a seminar in Bali, Indonesia on Friday, Oct. 12, 2018. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati, File)

FILE - Peng Shuai, of China, serves to Maria Sakkari, of Greece, during the second round of the US Open tennis championships Thursday, Aug. 29, 2019, in New York. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez, File)

FILE - In this file image taken from video, Liu Xiaobo speaks during an interview in his home in Beijing, China, Jan 6, 2008. (AP Photo, File)