Everything About the Sexual Assault Allegations Made by Peng Shuai Against Zhang Gaoli

By
Shawn Ambrose
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These days, thanks to the #metoo campaign and other joint efforts to raise awareness over sexual abuse, governments and enforcement officers all over the world feel more compelled to take cases of sexual assault seriously.

In the past, victims may have been too scared of the repercussions if they were assaulted by high-profile leaders, as power and wealth have a way of making such cases disappear.

So when Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai alleged that Zhang Gaoli, the former vice-premier of China, had sexually assaulted her, everyone expected the authorities to investigate the matter.

Instead, all her accusations have been wiped from China’s internet, and she’s now allegedly missing.

WTA Chairman Concerned About Peng Shuai, Wants Proof She is “Safe”

Ever since she made her allegations on Weibo (China’s version of Twitter) two weeks ago, Peng has not been heard from.

A letter, however, purportedly from Peng, has since appeared on China’s state media:

“Hello everyone this is Peng Shuai. Regarding the recent news… the content has not been confirmed or verified by myself and it was released without my consent. The news in the release, including the allegation of sexual assault, is not true. I’m not missing, nor am I unsafe. I’ve just been resting at home and everything is fine. Thank you again for caring about me”, she supposedly wrote.

Given that this letter was fishier than the Pacific Ocean, it wasn’t surprising that the chief of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), Steve Simon, said it only raised his concerns.

“I have a hard time believing that Peng Shuai actually wrote the email we received or believes what is being attributed to her,” he added.

The Allegation

In her Weibo post two weeks ago, Peng revealed that she had an on-off relationship with Zhang, and that he had “forced” her into sex at one point.

“I was very scared”, she said. “I initially refused and kept crying.” They continued to have a relationship after that, she said. She said she has no evidence of the relationship, but said Zhang’s wife knew about it.

“Even if it is no more than throwing an egg against a rock, I – courting disaster like a moth attracted to a flame – will speak the facts about what happened,” she wrote.

Post Deleted; Details of Accusations Scrubbed From China’s Internet

The post seems to have been deleted soon after it was put up, though Weibo confirmed that Peng had indeed posted something that day that was viewed over 100,000 times.

There are also no search results when Peng and Zhang’s names are entered together on China’s tightly controlled internet.

Worse, there has been no word or public response from Peng since she made her accusation, except for that dubious letter.

Other tennis players including Naomi Osaka and Novak Djokovic have expressed their concern for Peng.

Chinese officials have yet to issue a response. We can only hope that Peng is well.

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Shawn Ambrose
Email: [email protected]