Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai gave what has become a very rare appearance lately, in an extremely controlled interview in Beijing.
The interview was with French sports newspaper L’Equipe, the first time Peng has spoken with a newspaper outside of the Chinese language. However, the interview seemed equally controlled and left unanswered questions about what exactly happened and her wellbeing.
Peng accused former vice-premier Zhang Gaoli of sexual assault in November, and since then, has been removed from public life. She posted the accusation briefly on Weibo, and it was immediately censored and taken down, but not before it went viral. For nearly a month, she completely vanished from the public, creating international demands that her wellbeing and safety were proven and guaranteed.
In the interview with L’Equipe, Peng said that the concerns were a result of “an enormous misunderstanding.” But it appears that the format of the interview was controlled, and there was no allowance for follow-up questions. Questions were submitted in advance, and a Chinese Olympic committee official oversaw the meeting and even translated Peng’s comments from Chinese.
The interview came following an announcement that Peng had dinner with the International Olympic Committee President, Thomas Bach, over the weekend.
Peng’s appearance in the public eye during the Beijing Olympics seems an attempt by the Chinese government to not let the accusations overshadow the Winter games.
The interview lasted for an hour and was organized through China’s Olympic committee with the IOC. Her comments were published verbatim, in question-and-answer format.
L’Equipe asked Peng about the sexual assault allegations. In the post on Weibo, Peng said that Zhang, who is a member of the ruling Chinese Community party’s powerful Politburo Standing Committee, forced her to have sex with him despite her repeated refusals.
Peng walked back on the post and said it was an enormous misunderstanding and that she had never said anyone made her submit to a sexual assault. She claimed that she deleted the post. It was not asked why she posted it in the first place.
Peng also did not directly reply to an asked question about whether she had been in trouble with Chinese authorities following the post, and dodged the question a bit, with an answer that seemed to copy the views expressed by the Chinese government on sports and politics. She said that emotions, sports, and politics are all “clearly separate things,” and that her private life should not be mixed with politics and sports.
The controlled interview has done little to quell international fear over her wellbeing.
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