One prominent Communist Party-affiliated editor referred to her allegations on Twitter - which is banned in China - as "the thing people talked about.” Externally, state media sought to address that concern with dubious evidence and assurances that Peng was fine. 2 social media post that Zhang Gaoli, a former Communist Party vice premier, had coerced her into sex, Chinese authorities scrubbed her allegations from the internet, and blocked widespread international concern from even entering China's highly-censored cyberspace. Internally, in the hours, days and weeks after Peng, 35, said in a Nov. Global Athlete said in a statement last month that the IOC "demonstrate an abhorrent indifference to sexual violence and the well-being of female athletes." Sophie Richardson, China director at Human Rights Watch, said the IOC's approach sent a disturbing, unsupportive message "not just to Peng Shuai, but to other women across China struggling to get credible allegations of sexual assault or sexual harassment or sexual violence heard and investigated and prosecuted." IOC's wording aligns with Chinese propagandaĮxperts have noted that the IOC's careful wording falls in line with China's erasure. Rights groups and athlete advocates have criticized this evasiveness.
On Thursday, when pressed on why the IOC even felt the need to offer Peng support, Bach finally mentioned "the allegations she made," but kept his reasoning vague, mentioning the "effect this has in the world," and on Peng "as a human." Bach and other IOC officials continued this week to avoid those words. It has never, explicitly, been a sexual assault allegation. On Wednesday, at IOC president Thomas Bach's first news conference since Peng's allegation, it was the "fragile situation Peng Shuai is in." It's "this case," and "any problem that she might have," and " her situation." To the International Olympic Committee, Peng Shuai's allegation that a high-ranking Chinese politician coerced her into sex has been "the issue," and "a personal question," and "this very difficult moment of her life." (Photo by Gong Bing/Xinhua via Getty Images) Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee, speaks during an interview with Chinese outlet Xinhua in 2017.
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