The authorities in China had hoped the apparatus of a repressive state could simply make the whole thing go away. Instead, an accusation by tennis player Peng Shuai that she was sexually assaulted by a former vice premier, Zhang Gaoli, continues to confront the political establishment as few things have. The international furor over Peng’s accusation has erupted only weeks before a major event on China’s calendar — the Winter Olympics in Beijing. Peng’s case is the first #MeToo accusation leveled against someone within the highest ranks of power in China, the Politburo Standing Committee. “I can’t believe this is even happening in the 21st century,” Liam Broady, the British tennis player, wrote of Peng’s disappearance.

Source: New York Times November 19, 2021 03:40 UTC