Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai has told a French newspaper that international concern over her well-being is based on “an enormous misunderstanding” and she denied having accused a high-ranking Chinese official of sexual assault.
The Lianhe Zaobao Chinese-language newspaper posted video of Peng Shuai it says was taken Sunday in Shanghai in which she said she has been mainly staying at home in Beijing but was free to come and go as she chose.
China’s relationship with the Olympics could be best illustrated by Juan Antonio Samaranch of Spain, who led the IOC for two decades, and the foundation in China that bears his name.
On China’s social media platforms and other digital public squares, the censors’ meticulous work has left almost no sign that Peng had ever accused Zhang Gaoli, a former vice premier, of sexual assault.
There has been concern over Peng Shuai's well-being since she disappeared from public view after she alleged that a former senior Chinese official sexually assaulted her.
The Chinese tennis star disappeared from public view for weeks this month after she accused a top Chinese leader of sexual assault, prompting a global chorus of concern for her safety.
Peng can be seen among guests at the Fila Kids Junior Tennis Challenger, dressed in a dark blue jacket and white trousers, according to the pictures published on the event's official page on WeChat.
Peng Shuai is, after all, one of its own, a three-time Olympian and tennis trailblazer who suddenly disappeared into the morass of what passes for justice in China after accusing a former top government official of sexually assaulting her
Three-time Olympian Peng Shuai had on November 2 put out social media posts accusing former Chinese vice premier Zhang Gaoli of sexual assault