Peng Shuai’s alleged assaulter Zhang Gaoli avoids any interaction following his first public appearance
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Peng Shuai and former vice-premier Zhang Gaoli
Peng Shuai, the former Doubles number one from China, had taken the world by storm when he accused the former Chinese Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli of sexual assaulting her for years in November 2021 but disappeared suddenly after the allegation which was thought of as a forced disappearance but appeared again after two weeks and denied all the accusations with no signs of a probable return.
Zhang Gaoli made his first public appearance at the 20th Communist Congress Party after being alleged in the MeToo movement by Shuai. Zhang walked in at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing behind President Xi Jinping and other retired and current leaders. He was even spotted sitting alongside other retired and current Communist Party leaders in the front row of the podium as Xi gave his speech.
Zhang Gaoli had not commented on the allegations made by Shuai as the post was put down by the Chinese internet within a few minutes as the news broke due to censorship issues. His appearance at the Party event showed that his position and stature hadn’t been affected by the claims which hinted that the Party isn’t affected by such criticism.
WTA has suspended tournaments in China until safety is assured for Peng Shuai’s
With Peng Shuai‘s allegations, WTA canceled all events in 2022 that were scheduled to happen in China extending their support to Shuai with even demanding a full, fair, and transparent investigation. It was announced that the association might include China in the tour in 2023 but WTA chief Steve Simon has now denied those claims. WTA further claimed that they wouldn’t want to be associated with China and host any tournaments unless the safety and freedom of the former tennis player are assured.
He said that he does not wish to compromise the safety of other females, especially in a country where there is no freedom of speech and no actions have been made against the assaulted. Simon added “I don’t see how I can ask our athletes to compete there when Peng Shuai is not allowed to communicate freely and has seemingly been pressured to contradict her allegation of sexual assault“
Peng Shuai’s whereabouts are still unknown and with Zhang’s making his public appearance, the hashtag #WhereisPengShuai resurfaced with everyone questioning her situation and her safety since the government of China looks to support their politician.
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Prateek Pradhan
(601 Articles Published)