Major MeToo Scandal Emerges Before China's 6th Plenum... Will the 'Shanghai Gang' Be Hit?

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Hyun-woo] As allegations of sexual assault against Chinese female tennis star Peng Shuai by former Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli, a former member of the top leadership from the Shanghai faction (Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China), have emerged, attention is focused on what impact this will have on Chinese politics going forward.

Peng Shuai, a Chinese female tennis star, claimed in a post on her Weibo account on the night of the 2nd that former Vice Premier Zhang sexually assaulted her after his retirement in 2018. Peng wrote that Zhang, who served as Party Secretary of Tianjin from 2007 to 2012, had a sexual relationship with her during that period, then was promoted to the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau (November 2012) and ceased contact, only to reach out to her one day after his retirement.

Peng alleges that after playing tennis together in Beijing, she went to Zhang’s home with him and his wife, where she was coerced into sexual relations. It is shocking that a sports star who once ranked No. 1 in the world in women’s doubles tennis openly revealed on social media the abuse she suffered from a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau, a near-sacred political figure in China. Since Me Too movements?where victims publicly disclose sexual violence?are extremely rare in China, this incident reportedly surprised many.

The case was already reported worldwide by foreign media on the 3rd, but in China it is reportedly treated as an open secret. Due to government censorship, related posts cannot be found online, and Peng’s Weibo account, which she used to expose the incident, is currently unsearchable.

However, it seems unlikely that this incident will be buried in China without further repercussions. Although the process leading to Peng’s disclosure remains unclear, the fact that the incident occurred just before the important political schedule of the 20th Party Congress next fall?where President Xi Jinping’s third term is expected to be decided?has drawn attention to its political ramifications.

Within China, attention is focused on the timing of the incident, which surfaced just before the 6th Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party (19th 6th Plenum, from the 8th to 11th), and on the fact that the accused is a key figure from the Shanghai faction associated with former President Jiang Zemin, who is considered a political rival group to the current top leader.

Zhang Gaoli, born in Jinjiang, Fujian Province in southern China, is a representative official from the Shanghai faction who rose through the ranks after working at the Maoming Petroleum Corporation in Guangdong Province and being promoted by Li Changchun, a former Standing Committee member of the Political Bureau and close aide to Jiang Zemin.

After Li Changchun was appointed Party Secretary of Guangdong in 1998, he favored Zhang Gaoli and entrusted him with Shenzhen, a core city of reform and opening-up. In 2000, Jiang Zemin praised the “Shenzhen model” under Zhang, then Party Secretary of Shenzhen, when announcing the “Three Represents” theory in Guangdong, and subsequently appointed him Governor of Shandong Province. Considering this, Zhang’s scandal is expected to deal a significant blow to the Jiang Zemin faction ahead of the 6th Plenum, where China’s top leaders gather.

Some analysts suggest that regardless of Zhang Gaoli’s political backers, the fact that he was part of the top leadership during Xi Jinping’s first term (2013?2017) will make this a difficult issue for President Xi as well. On the 3rd, eight cases of misconduct involving senior government officials or businesspeople in Tianjin?where Zhang served as Party Secretary from 2007 to 2012, just before becoming a Standing Committee member?were posted on the website of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) and the National Supervisory Commission, China’s highest anti-corruption and disciplinary bodies, drawing attention.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.