Tennis player Peng Shuai reappeared in an interview with the sports newspaper The Team. From a hotel room in Beijing, escorted by Wang Kan, head of the Chinese Olympic Committee, he reiterated the backtrack on allegations of sexual abuse against former Deputy Prime Minister Zhang Gaoli, thanking all those who were concerned about his state of health in the last three months, even if I do not understand the reasons. “First of all I would like to thank the ATP and WTA players, all the athletes and personalities in large numbers who have cared about me,” said Peng. “But I didn’t think there would be such a concern and I would like to know: why such a concern?” he added.
Peng again denied having made allegations of sexual assault: “I never said anyone had sexually assaulted me in any way,” she reiterated, also denying that she disappeared. “I have never disappeared. Everyone could see me ». The tennis player also confirmed that she had met the president of the International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach last Saturday during the Beijing Winter Games and announced her retirement from the sport. “We had dinner together on Saturday and had a good discussion. But I repeat that I have never accused anyone of rape and have never disappeared. There was a huge misunderstanding following that post of mine. It was I who canceled it ».
The interview, published this morning, is the first that the former number in the world at Wimbledon released to a Western media after the case that broke out in early November on the alleged sexual violence suffered by the very powerful former vice premier Zhang Gaoli. “I’ve never disappeared,” she reiterated. “Just a lot of people – including my friends and the IOC – sent me a lot of messages and it was impossible to reply to all of them. But I have always been in close contact with my closest friends, I spoke to them, I replied to their e-mails, I also spoke to the WTA ».
Peng’s allegations were published on November 2 in a long post on Weibo (the Chinese version of Twitter), sending the censorship machine into a tailspin. “I know you are not afraid, but like an egg crashing into a rock or a moth launching itself into a flame, I will tell the truth about you,” wrote the Wimbledon and Roland Garros winner. According to his version, the two had an affair more than ten years ago, when he was head of the Party in Tianjin. Then, elected to the Politburo Standing Committee (where the 7 most powerful men in the country sit) and subsequently deputy premier, Zhang had cut off all communication. Until 2018, when he retired, he contacted her again, inviting her home: the sexual violence would have occurred there, “while his wife was on guard. You wanted to have sex with me. Why did you come back and forced me to have a relationship with you? ‘
The yellow on the removed post and the dropped charges had mobilized athletes, politicians and human rights experts who had expressed solidarity with her. Novak Djokovic also commented on the case: “We didn’t have enough information,” said the Serbian on the sidelines of the Davis Cup.
She disappeared for weeks after those accusations made against Zhang, then reappeared in some photos and videos published by the Chinese media: which had not convinced anyone, however, of her safety.