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sports Diabierna 5 november 2021

Tennis star accuses China ex-vice premier of sexual assault

(AP) — Chinese authori-
ties have squelched virtu-
ally all online discussion
of sexual assault accusa-
tions apparently made by a
Chinese professional ten-
nis star against a former
top government official,
showing how sensitive the
ruling Communist Party
is to such charges.
In a lengthy social media
post that disappeared quick-
ly, Peng Shuai wrote that
Zhang Gaoli, a former vice
premier and member of the
party’s all-powerful Politbu-
ro Standing Committee, had
forced her to have sex despite
repeated refusals following a
round of tennis three years
ago. Her post also said they
had sex once seven years ago
and she had feelings for him
after that.

Peng is a former top-ranked
doubles player, taking 23
tour-level doubles titles,
including Grand Slams at
Wimbledon in 2013 and the
French Open in 2014.

The Associated Press could
not verify the authenticity of
her post, which was made late
Tuesday night by her verified
account on Weibo, a leading mination to control public her into a room at his home cusations of “lascivious life- on civil society, including the
Chinese social media plat- discourse and restrain social where the assault occurred. styles,” along with bribery #MeToo movement that has
form. The post was removed movements it can’t be sure of and abusing their positions. struggled to gain traction in
soon after, and a search on controlling. While social me- “I was so frightened that af- the country.
Weibo for Peng’s account dia has become ubiquitous in ternoon, never thinking that Zhang retired in 2018 and
now turns up no results. China, it remains firmly un- this thing could happen,” the has largely disappeared from Zhou Xiaoxuan, a former in-
Neither she nor Zhang could der party control. post says. public life, as is usual with tern at Chinese state broad-
be reached for comment. former Chinese officials. caster CCTV, was shoved by
Screenshots of the post have Rumors and overseas reports bystanders in September as
The accusation is the first circulated on Twitter, which about affairs between young- Peng hasn’t played at the top she went to court in a case
against a prominent gov- is blocked in China, rein- er women and leading offi- tier since the Qatar Open in against a well-known pre-
ernment official since the vigorating discussion on that cials have long been staples February 2020. In singles, senter.
#MeToo movement took platform about gender rela- of Chinese politics, starting she reached the semifinals
hold in China in 2018 before tions in China, where men with the founder of the Peo- of the 2014 U.S. Open and Since then, the movement
being largely tamped down dominate the top levels in ple’s Republic, Mao Zedong. the Round of 16 at the sub- has been largely shut down
by authorities the same year. politics and business. sequent Australian Open, by authorities as activists
Earlier accusations were con- Cases brought against pres- but hasn’t progressed beyond found their online posts
fined to the media, advocacy In the post, Peng, 35, wrote ent and former officials un- the third round at any major censored and faced pressure
groups and academia. that Zhang, now 75, and his der party leader and Presi- since Wimbledon in 2017. from authorities when trying
wife arranged to play tennis dent Xi Jinping’s decade-long to hold protests.
The Communist Party’s re- in Beijing about three years anti-corruption campaign The Communist Party has
sponse illustrates its deter- ago and that he later brought also frequently feature ac- increasingly cracked down

US goalkeeper Steffen extends Man City

contract until 2025

(AP) - Manchester City’s loan in Germany at Fortuna for City in the League Cup
American goalkeeper Dusseldorf before being part and FA Cup last season. “I
Zack Steffen has signed a of the squad that won the want to keep pushing (first-
contract extension tying Premier League and League choice goalkeeper) Ederson
him to the club until the Cup last season. every single day and take my
summer of 2025. chances when they arrive.”
“This is a fantastic moment
The 26-year-old United me — I am so happy to be Steffen has played 24 games
States international joined committing my future to for the U.S. and helped the
City from Columbus Crew Manchester City,” said Stef- team win the CONCACAF
in 2019 and spent a year on fen, who played every match Nations League in June.