Tennis Player Peng Shuai Denies Sexual Assault Allegation
The Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai has denied having brought charges of sexual assault against the high-ranking communist party official Zhang Gaoli.
I have never said or written anything accusing anyone of sexually harassing me
I want to emphasize this point very clearly
Peng told the Chinese-language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao in a video interview.
It was the first time that Peng Shuai spoke directly on the camera. At the beginning of November, the athlete published a post on the Weibo social network, which was understood as an allegation of sexual assault by former politburo member Zhang. The post was deleted soon after. Since then, state censorship has also blocked any debate on the Chinese Internet about it.
In the interview that has now appeared, Peng is no longer asked how or why the long and very detailed article from November 2nd was published. Peng said her Weibo post was a private matter and there has been a lot of misunderstanding. When asked if she had been monitored since the allegations were reported, Peng replied that she had always been very free.
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| The PNC Championship |
For the past few weeks, she has mainly been at her home in Beijing and has been able to come and go at any time. When asked whether she wanted to travel abroad, Peng pointed out that she no longer actively plays tennis and that, because of the pandemic, she currently has no intention of leaving China: "What should I do out there now?"
After the release, the three-time Olympic and Wimbledon winner appeared on a tennis court in Beijing , waving and signing oversized tennis balls for children. The foreign subsidiary of state television also released a statement in English attributed to Peng withdrawing allegations against Zhang.
Women's tennis association WTA wants to investigate the incident
The women's tennis association WTA told the AFP news agency in response to the video that it was calling for a full, fair and transparent investigation into the case. The admission had "the considerable concerns of the WTA regarding their well-being and their ability to communicate free from censorship or coercion, neither reduced nor allayed," said the association.
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| European Nations League |
Peng, a double winner at Wimbledon and the French Open, had not been seen in public for more than two weeks after making the rape allegations against Zhang. The allegations raised concerns about Peng's safety among politicians, other tennis players and the World Tennis Federation. Peng and functionary Zhang had had a secret relationship with many interruptions for years.
The disappearance of the sportswoman caused a great stir internationally. After increasing international pressure, state media published recordings that showed Peng, among other things, at a tennis tournament in Beijing. At the end of November, Peng also had a half-hour video call with the President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach.
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