Since the world movement began #MeToo to denounce violence against women, accusations of Peng Shuai were the first against senior officials of the Chinese Communist Party (PCC).
On November 2, a message posted briefly on the official account Weibo (equivalent to Twitter on China) of the player reported that he had relations with the former Chinese Vice Prime Minister Zhang Gaoli.
This man, one of the most powerful of China Between 2013 and 2018, he forced her, according to the tennis player, to have sex and made her his lover. Zhang, currently in his 70s, has not reacted to these statements.
It is not clear whether the message, of which the AFP You have only seen screenshots, it was posted by herself Peng Shuai.
On China the name of Peng Shuai still appears in internet search results, but the case, as well as the searches that associate the player already Zhang they do not offer any results.
After posting the message, Peng Shuai He did not appear in public for more than two weeks, causing the concern of all the actors of world tennis.
Repercussions
The WTA, the association that manages the professional women’s tennis circuit, announced on Wednesday that it is suspending its tournaments in China due to the sex scandal denounced by the champion Peng Shuai.
“Honestly, it’s shocking that it disappeared”, claimed the world number one Novak Djokovic.
The american Serena Williams it was declared “shocked” for the matter. “It must be investigated, we cannot remain silent”, asked in Twitter the tennis player.
In mid-November the WTA break his silence, asking for a “Thorough, fair and transparent investigation into allegations of sexual violence against Peng Shuai”.
The UN and several countries also asked China for explanations
Due to the importance that the case acquires, the Chinese media multiply the statements, photos and videos of the player with the aim of reassuring the international community.
On November 17, Chinese public television CGTN posted an image of an email attributed to Peng Shuai and directed to the WTA.
This channel in English intended for foreign audiences says that the player clarifies that the term “sexual assault” used by the WTA to describe the case is incorrect and that everything is fine.
The content of the message and its authenticity perplex Steve Simon, which questions its veracity.
Two days later, a Chinese journalist reported on Twitter, a social network blocked in the Asian giant, photos of the player apparently taken at home, without it being possible to determine when they were taken.
Below, videos posted on Twitter by the editor-in-chief of the nationalist newspaper Global Times show to Peng Shuai at a children’s tennis match and having dinner at a restaurant with his friends. The conditions in which they were taken are unknown.
The WTA judged “positive” see the tennis player, but estimates that “The video alone is not enough to show that he is free in his decisions and actions.”
On November 21 the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announces that its president Thomas Bach has held a 30-minute videoconference interview with Peng Shuai.
The WATCH specifies that the tennis player has said to be “safe and sound”, underlining that you want your private life to be “respected”.
This Thursday the WATCH had a new interview with Peng Shuai, without publishing images or recordings of the moment.
Following the withdrawal from tournaments in China by the WTA, the country’s authorities limited themselves to signaling their firm opposition “to acts to politicize sport”, said Wang Wenbin, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The China Tennis Federation showed his “outrage and his closed opposition”, in a message posted on Global Times.
Source From: Ambito
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