Peng Shuai says allegation was ‘enormous misunderstanding’

Chinese tennis participant Peng Shuai has informed a French newspaper that worldwide concern over her well-being relies on “an enormous misunderstanding” and she or he denied having accused a Chinese official of sexual assault.
L’Equipe, which specialises in sports activities information, revealed the interview Monday. The publication stated it spoke to the tennis participant a day earlier in a Beijing resort in an hour-long interview organised by way of China’s Olympic committee.
Also Monday, the International Olympic Committee launched an announcement saying IOC President Thomas Bach had dinner with Peng on Saturday, and she or he attended the China-Norway curling match with IOC member Kirsty Coventry.
The newspaper stated it needed to submit questions upfront and {that a} Chinese Olympic committee official sat in on the dialogue and translated her feedback from Chinese.
The newspaper revealed her feedback verbatim – which it stated was one other pre-condition for interview – in question-and-answer type.

L’Equipe requested Peng a few publish in November on her verified account on a number one Chinese social media platform, Weibo, which kicked off a storm of worldwide concern about her.
In that publish, Peng wrote that Zhang Gaoli, a former vice premier and member of the ruling Chinese Communist Party’s omnipotent Politburo Standing Committee, had compelled her to have intercourse regardless of repeated refusals. Her publish additionally stated they’d intercourse as soon as seven years in the past and she or he had emotions for him after that.
Peng briefly disappeared from public view, then appeared at some promotional appearances organized by the federal government. The interview with L’Equipe was her first sit-down dialogue with non-Chinese media for the reason that accusation.
But chatting with L’Equipe, Peng denied having accused Zhang of assault.
“Sexual assault? I never said that anyone made me submit to a sexual assault,” the newspaper quoted her as saying.
“This post resulted in an enormous misunderstanding from the outside world,” she additionally stated. “My wish is that the meaning of this post no longer be skewed.”