New Delhi | Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai, who disappeared after an alleged sexual-assault allegation against a retired official from China’s Communist Party of forcing her into sex, has now retracted saying she was never sexually assaulted.
The Lianhe Zaobao Chinese-language newspaper posted video of Peng on Sunday in Shanghai in which she said she has been mainly staying at home in Beijing but was free to come and go as per her will.
“First of all, I want to emphasise something that is very important. I have never said that I wrote that anyone sexually assaulted me. I need to emphasise this point very clearly. There may have been misunderstandings by everyone," Peng told the newspaper.
The paper said it interviewed Peng at a promotional event for the Beijing Winter Olympic Games which will commence on February 4.
Peng dropped out of sight after the accusation against former Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli briefly appeared on her verified Weibo social media before being swiftly removed. Screen shots of the post were shared across the internet, drawing widespread concern about Peng's safety from politicians, fellow tennis stars and the Women's Tennis Association, which announced it was suspending all events in China indefinitely.
WTA chief executive Steve Simon questioned the emailed statement's legitimacy while others said it only increased their concern about her safety. In the Lianhe Zaobao interview, Peng said she wrote the statement in Chinese and it was later translated into English but that there was no substantive difference in meaning between the two versions.
She also cleared all the air about her sudden disapearance for couple of months leaving the tennis world wondering about her safety.
“Why would someone keep watch over me?” she said. “I’ve been very free all along,” Peng said.
After this latest interview, a spokesperson for the association said it still had not been able to make independent contact with Ms. Peng. And the association said in a statement, “We remain steadfast in our call for a full, fair and transparent investigation, without censorship, into her allegation of sexual assault, which is the issue that gave rise to our initial concern.”
It added, “As we have consistently stated, these appearances do not alleviate or address the W.T.A.’s significant concerns about her well-being and ability to communicate without censorship or coercion.”
The controversy surrounding Peng has added to protests over Beijing's hosting of the Winter Games because of the government's human rights abuses.
