Chinese language tennis participant Peng Shuai advised a French newspaper that worldwide concern over her well-being relies on "an infinite misunderstanding" and denied having accused a high-ranking Chinese language official of sexual assault.
The interview with L'Equipe was held underneath managed circumstances in Beijing and didn't reply some key questions on Peng's preliminary accusations of sexual assault and whether or not she has since been in bother with China's authoritarian authorities.
L'Equipe, which focuses on sports activities information, printed the interview Monday. The publication stated it spoke to the tennis participant a day earlier in a Beijing lodge in an hour-long interview organized via China's Olympic committee.
Additionally on Monday, the Worldwide Olympic Committee stated it was not in a position to determine if there must be an investigation into Chinese language tennis participant Peng Shuai's seemingly retracted sexual assault allegations. Spokesperson Mark Adams stated all sides ought to hearken to Peng's phrases on the matter.
The IOC launched a press release saying IOC President Thomas Bach had dinner with Peng on Saturday. That was the day after China's president opened the Winter Olympics in Beijing, overshadowed by worldwide issues about Chinese language human rights abuses and Peng's scenario.
The IOC stated Peng additionally attended the China-Norway Olympic curling match with IOC member Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe.
L'Equipe stated it needed to submit questions prematurely and that a Chinese language Olympic committee official sat in on the dialogue and translated Peng's feedback from Chinese language.
The newspaper printed her feedback verbatim — which it stated was one other precondition for the interview — in question-and-answer type. Images of Peng through the interview confirmed her sporting a purple track-suit high with "China" in Chinese language characters on the entrance.
L'Equipe requested Peng a few submit that appeared briefly in November on her verified account on a number one Chinese language social media platform, Weibo, which kicked off a storm of worldwide concern about her.
In that submit, Peng wrote that Zhang Gaoli, a former vice-premier and member of the ruling Chinese language Communist Celebration's omnipotent Politburo Standing Committee, had pressured her to have intercourse regardless of repeated refusals.
Her submit additionally stated that they had intercourse as soon as seven years in the past, and he or she had emotions for him after that.
Peng briefly disappeared from public view after the submit, 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 language media for the reason that accusation.
Chatting with L'Equipe, Peng denied having accused Zhang of assault.
"Sexual assault? I by no means stated that anybody made me undergo a sexual assault," the newspaper quoted her as saying.
"This submit resulted in an infinite misunderstanding from the surface world," she additionally stated. "My want is that the that means of this submit now not be skewed."
The prolonged submit rapidly disappeared from Peng's account. Requested why by L'Equipe, she stated, "I erased it".
"Why? As a result of I wished to," she added.
Within the interview, Peng didn't reply immediately as to if she had been in bother with Chinese language authorities for the reason that submit. As a substitute, she responded with a pat-sounding reply that echoed views usually expressed by the Chinese language authorities about sport and politics.
"I used to be to say to start with that feelings, sport and politics are three clearly separate issues," the newspaper quoted her as saying. "My romantic issues, my personal life, shouldn't be combined with sport and politics."
Requested what her life has been like for the reason that November posting, she replied, "It's correctly: Nothing particular."
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