MeToo: Exiled Chinese human rights activist Teng Biao apologises to woman journalist
Activist says he feels ‘extremely guilty’ for ‘awkward act of courtship’ and denies rape allegations
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Your support makes all the difference.A prominent Chinese dissident who was accused of rape by a woman apologised to her but claimed her rape allegations were “baseless”.
Exiled Chinese human rights activist Teng Biao, 49, apologised to the woman journalist who accused him of rape during a work-related trip in 2016. He, however, said the encounter was not an attack but rather a “extremely awkward act of courtship”.
He has been living in the US since 2014, having been exiled from China in 2012.
“It was an extremely awkward act of courtship. But her feelings were different, and I respect her feelings,” said Mr Teng’s statement. “No matter what, what I did was unacceptable and unforgivable. I am sorry. I was wrong.”
“I’ve apologised to her many times in private, and now I need to apologise publicly. I am sorry. I hurt you,” he added.
The Taiwanese journalist, who has not been identified and prefers to stay anonymous, claimed Mr Teng lunged at her in a hotel in India’s Dharamshala in 2016.
“He lunged at me multiple times, I pushed him away. He then came at me again while I walked to the door so I withdrew to the corner,” the BBC quoted her as saying.
“I said ‘don’t you come, or I’ll scream’. He didn’t want others to hear so he had to let me go.”
In response, Mr Teng claimed he has “strong evidence that [shows] a rape attempt accusation is baseless”.
After Taiwan’s MeToo reckoning, the journalist reached out to Mr Teng and asked him to apologise publicly. That is when the exiled Chinese activist issued the public statement.
Mr Teng posted the statement on his social media Twitter and Facebook, in which he also said he was “extremely guilty” for the damage the woman suffered.
He, however, said he didn’t lunge at her or stop her from leaving the room.
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