Concerns grow for Chinese tennis star who accused ex-vice-premier of assault

Peng Shuai has not been publicly heard from since she made accusation online on 2 November

A growing movement including Chinese feminist groups and international tennis stars is raising concern over the whereabouts of the former Chinese doubles pro Peng Shuai after she accused a senior government figure of sexual assault.

Peng, one of China's biggest sporting stars, has not been publicly heard from since a Weibo post on 2 November, in which she alleged the former vice-premier Zhang Gaoli coerced her into sex and that they had an intermittent affair. The post was taken down by China's censors but still went viral. Subsequent posts and reactions, even keywords such as tennis", also appeared to be blocked, and numerous references to Peng were scrubbed from China's internet.