Peng Shuai case - not a sexual assault after all?
New twist in the Peng Shuai case: the Chinese tennis player said that her post on social media had been misunderstood.
by APA
last edit:
Dec 19, 2021, 10:07 pm
Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai denied on Sunday that she had voiced allegations of sexual assault by a top Chinese politician. The 35-year-old announced that she had been misunderstood in her communication on the social network at the beginning of November. On the contrary, she never accused anyone. After this post, the former world number one in doubles had disappeared from the public for almost three weeks.
The notice accused former Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli and was deleted soon after it appeared. Since then, athletes, politicians and human rights activists have expressed concern for the tennis player's well-being. Due to the situation, the WTA has suspended all tournaments in China and Hong Kong, although China is an important donor.
Is it all just a misunderstanding?
Now Peng heard the following in a video message to a media company in Singapore: "I would like to emphasize one very important point: I have never said or written that anyone has sexually assaulted me. I have to emphasize this clearly. " It is the first time that Peng has commented on the cause in front of a camera. She did so on the sidelines of one of the cross-country skiing events she attended in Shanghai.
She last lived at her home in Beijing without being monitored. The post from the beginning of November was a private matter. She also underlined this in a personal letter to WTA boss Steve Simon last month. The misunderstanding was based on the English translation of your post. Upon receipt of this letter, Simon stated that he did not believe that Peng had drafted this letter himself.