For the first and official time since she disappeared, and after accusing the Deputy Prime Minister of sexual assault, Chinese tennis player Feng Shui, she was interviewed today (Monday) by the French newspaper L'Equipe and claimed that the post she published was a total misunderstanding.
The paper asked Feng about a post that appeared in November on her verified account on the Chinese social media platform Weibo, which caused a stir and international concern about it.
As you may recall, last December, a newspaper in Singapore published an exclusive interview with the tennis player, but was followed by many allegations that his credibility was in doubt and since the interview itself was unofficial, worldwide protests continued about her true condition.
In the same post, Feng wrote that Zhang Zhauli, a former deputy prime minister and a member of the Chinese Communist Party committee, forced her to have sex despite repeated refusals.
Her post also said they had sex once seven years ago, and she had feelings for him afterwards.
Feng has briefly disappeared from the public eye since publication, then appeared in several promotional appearances organized by the government.
In a conversation with L'Equipe, Feng denied accusing Zhang of assault: "Sexual assault? I never said anyone made me succumb to sexual assault," she was quoted as saying.
"This post has caused a huge misunderstanding in the world. My wish is that the meaning of this post will no longer be biased."
Peng Shuai: "My life is as it should be: nothing special
."
https://t.co/0mPXJBcY3s pic.twitter.com/rZbRlZxN8a
- THE TEAM (@lequipe) February 6, 2022
The long post quickly disappeared from Feng's account.
When asked why: "I deleted it."
"Why? Because I wanted to," she added.
In an interview, Feng did not directly answer the question of whether she has been in trouble with the Chinese authorities since the post and instead argued that "my romantic problems, my private life, should not be involved with sports and politics."
When asked what her life has looked like since the November publication, she replied: "It's as it should be: nothing special."
L'Aquip said they had to submit the questions in advance and a source at the Chinese Olympic Committee sat in on an interview and translated Feng's words from Chinese, when the newspaper published her words verbatim - which he said was another precondition for the interview.
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