China’s online censors Thursday scrubbed out a tennis star’s reported allegations that a powerful politician sexually assaulted her, the first time that the #MeToo movement has reached the highest echelons of the ruling Communist Party.
Peng Shuai, an ex-world number one doubles player, purportedly made the claim about former vice premier Zhang Gaoli in a post on the Twitter-like Weibo on Tuesday.
Peng reportedly alleged that Zhang, who is now in his seventies, had “forced” her into sex and they had an on-off relationship that lasted several years.
The post appeared to have been deleted quickly and AFP was unable to verify the authenticity of the screenshots containing the allegation, or substantiate the claims made in them.