Tennis star accuses top politician of sexual assault

Her accusation is leading the #MeToo movement, which is also emerging in China, to the top of the ruling party for the first time. The former world number one in tennis doubles made the allegations on Tuesday night on a verified social media account. Peng wrote that Zhang Gaoli forced her to have sex several years ago before she agreed to begin a year-long affair with him. Born in November 1946, Zhang was a member of the Politburo Standing Committee, the top leadership of the Communist Party, between 2012 and 2017. Peng, 35, also wrote that she could not provide any evidence to support her allegations. “I know that I cannot say everything clearly and that there is no point in saying it. But I still want to say it.” Requests for comment from international media have so far remained unanswered. Zhang and various political authorities have not yet commented. China reacts rigorously Although the post was deleted within minutes of publication, screenshots circulated on China's tightly controlled Internet. On Wednesday, internet searches for her name appeared to be blocked, Reuters news agency reported. According to the New York Times In China, there were even no hits for the word “tennis”. This is also why it has not yet been possible to verify the authenticity of the posting, explained the The Washington Post . “Authorities have previously charged government officials with sexual misconduct, often in connection with corruption investigations. However, “never before has an allegation of sexual misconduct been made publicly against a political leader as high-ranking as Mr. Zhang,” the wrote on Wednesday New York Times . Peng won two Grand Slam tournaments, Wimbledon (2013) and the French Open (2014). Since then, she has been one of the biggest sports stars in China.

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Tennis star accuses top politician of sexual assault

Chinese sports star Peng Shuai has accused the country's retired deputy prime minister of sexual assault.

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