Xie Feng signing autographs for children at the opening ceremony of the Pillar Junior Tennis Tournament held in Beijing, China on the 21st / Photo = REUTERS
Chinese tennis star Feng Xiaoyi, who was rumored to be missing after revealing that she was sexually assaulted by former Chinese deputy prime minister Zhang Gaori, said through the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that she is doing well and wants her privacy to be respected.
According to a statement from the IOC on the 21st (local time), IOC President Thomas Bach had a video call with Feng Shun. The 30-minute video call was attended by IOC Athletes’ Commissioner Emma Terho and Chinese IOC Commissioner Li Lingwei.
Shen Feng is now at home in Beijing and wants to spend time with friends and family, the IOC said. He also mentioned that he would continue playing tennis, the sport he loved so much.
After the video call, Athlete’s Committee Chairman Terho said, “It’s reassuring to see that Peng is doing well. She seemed relaxed. She said that she could contact me whenever it was convenient.”
At the end of the video call, the IOC also introduced that after Bach’s arrival in Beijing in January next year, the IOC had decided to invite Feng to dinner, and Feng also gladly accepted it.
China arranged the phone call between Peng and Bach because the IOC warned that the issue could affect the Beijing Winter Olympics to be held in February next year.
Shen Feng is a world-class player who became the first Chinese tennis player to reach the top of the world rankings in women’s professional tennis (WTA) doubles in February 2014. On the 2nd, he posted on Weibo, the Chinese version of Twitter, that former deputy prime minister Zhang Ga-ori sexually assaulted him and that he was forced to have an inappropriate relationship for many years after that.
Feng Shun / Photo = AP
According to Feng’s revelations, the two first met in 2011 in Tianjin, China. At the time, Feng was a member of the Tianjin tennis team, and Zhang Gaoli, the secretary of Tianjin, visited him and had an affair once.
Zhang Gaori was then promoted to a standing member of the Political Bureau of the Central Politburo, and lost contact after leaving for Beijing, Feng said. Then, three years ago, in 2018, Zhang Ga-ori, who retired from the position of deputy prime minister of the State Council, returned to visit Feng Xiaoyi with his wife and invited her to her home.
Shen Feng was asked for a relationship while Zhang Ga-ori’s wife was watching her in front of the door, and said, “I cried and refused with fear, but I agreed to it in a terrifying and bewildering state.” I fell for this rumor and accepted him again.” She continued to have an affair after that, and Zhang Ga-ori’s wife, Kang Je, was aware of their relationship, but she condoned and sympathized with them.
This post was deleted after about 20 minutes, and the whereabouts of Pengshun have since been unclear. Suspicions have been raised that he may have been de facto detained for exposing the riches of a politician. The international community pressured the Chinese government to provide evidence to prove Feng’s whereabouts and safety. In an interview with Reuters, IOC member Dick Pound warned that the IOC could take a hard line on the host country of the 2022 Beijing Olympic Games.
This video call took place amid growing international concerns about Peng’s personal safety. Chinese authorities also released a photo of Shun Feng signing autographs for children at the Pillar Junior Tennis Tournament held in Beijing on the 21st.
By Kim Ye-rang, reporter at Hankyung.com yesrang@hankyung.com
