The International Olympic Committee met via a video call with Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai, who went missing earlier this month after accusing a former senior member of the Chinese government of sexual assault. Shuai has started to publicly reemerge under the watchful eye of China's Communist ruling party, first with a cryptic tweet from Chinese state-run media Wednesday — which only raised the alarm for the Women's Tennis Association, which has threatened to sever all ties with China as a result of Shuai's disappearance and treatment. A Weibo post showed Shuai at a youth tournament in Beijing on Sunday, according to photos released by the organizer — the first time she'd been seen in public since her accusations were posted online. The IOC released a statement later Sunday that IOC president Thomas Bach met virtually with Shuai on a video call that lasted 30 minutes. Shuai thanked the IOC for its concern about her well-being, explaining that she is safe and living at her home in Beijing, "but would like to have her privacy respected at this time," according to the IOC. "That is why she prefers to spend her time with friends and family right now," the IOC said. "Nevertheless, she will continue to be involved in tennis, the sport she loves so much." Photo by GREG MARTIN/OIS/IOC/AFP via Getty Images