The interview with the French sports newspaper L’Equipe seems to be the last act of the Peng Shuai case . The 36-year-old Chinese tennis player had ended up in the international spotlight for “alleged sexual violence”, reported through social media. The hasty removal of the post, the athlete’s disappearance and the accusations against the Chinese government have for months fueled an enlarged thriller in a “clash of systems”: the Western world and China.
“When Peng Shuai released a sexual assault allegation against a senior Chinese government official on November 2, 2021, the Women’s Tennis Association recognized that the tennis player’s message had to be heard and taken seriously,” said Steve Simon. CEO of the WTA,suspension of all tennis tournaments in China and Hong Kong . The reassurances of Beijing were of little use, also in view of the Games.
Ap
A recent protest in Melbourne, Australia
Peng reappeared, once again denying the accusations against former Chinese Deputy Prime Minister Zhang Gaoli , who allegedly forced her to have sex, trying to mitigate the doubts of the international press about her alleged kidnapping ordered by Chinese institutions. The athlete also commented on the removal of the post-report against the former Communist leader . “I canceled it,” she said. “Because
Because I wanted. It was impossible to reply to everyone, “she replied confirming that she wrote the e-mails sent to the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) in her own hand.” This post has given rise to a huge misunderstanding in the outside world. I hope the meaning is no longer distorted. And I also hope that no more uproar will be added “, concluded Peng. In other words, there would have been no” constraint. ”
Ansa
Former Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli
Peng, former world number one in doubles, had disappeared from public life after publishing the accusation of sexual assault against the Chinese politician in Weibo. The yellow on the removed post and the dropped charges sparked a unanimous chorus. Athletes, politicians and human rights experts expressed solidarity with her, dramatically multiplying the visibility of the “cry for help”. Even Novak Djokovic had expressed himself on the case: “We did not have enough information”, the Serbian declared on the sidelines of the Davis Cup for this “I fully support the position of the WTA (to cancel tournaments) because we do not know Shuai’s well-being. His health is important for the world of tennis. Such a thing must not happen. ”
Ap
Peng Shuai
Thus in the recent interview with L’Equipe, carried out in Chinese with an interpreter who translated into English, Peng once again denied having made allegations of sexual violence . “I never said that someone had sexually assaulted me in any way,” she reiterated, denying, furthermore, that she was missing. ” I never disappeared . Everyone could see me”, she continued, adding that she had met Thomas Bach, the president of the International Olympic Committee, and had “had a good discussion and exchange”.
The IOC confirmed the meeting between Peng, the former president of the Commission of athletes Kirsty Coventry and Bach in a hotel. Before the start of the Beijing Winter Olympics, as had been promised by the IOC. In addition, Peng would have accepted the invitation to visit the headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland.
“President Bach had a personal meeting with Peng Shuai and our job is to keep in touch with her , continue to carry out our silent diplomacy, meet her and invite her to Lausanne. We do our best to ensure that she can be happy, not it is up to us to judge its position. ” Mark Adams, spokesman for the IOC, thus responded to the doubts related to what the Chinese tennis player reported to Bach. ” It is not up to us to decide whether or not there should be an investigation– Adams added during a briefing at the Main Media Center in Beijing – You have read her interview with ‘L’Equipe’, we will continue to have contacts, we will meet her again, we do everything possible to make things as they should be. Our interlocutor has always been the Chinese Olympic Committee, they were the means to organize the meeting “, concluded Adams.
