Hong Kong: Teng Biao, an exiled Chinese human rights activist, has apologized to a female journalist in Taiwan as the MeToo movement gains momentum there.
Teng allegedly attempted to rape the woman during a work-related trip in 2016. Teng denied the rape charges this week but apologized. He described the encounter as a “clumsy courtship” rather than an attack. Teng left China in 2012 and has lived in the United States since 2014. Teng, according to the Taiwanese journalist, lunged at her in a hotel room in India in 2016.
She told the BBC that she needed to stay longer than the official schedule allowed, and Teng provided her with a hotel that he claimed had already been paid for by some acquaintances who had left earlier than expected. She claims that when she entered the room, Teng was seated there.
She said that he ran at her many times, and she pushed him away. She added that he then came at her again as she was walking to the door, so she withdrew to the corner. She added that she told him to stop or she would scream. He let her go because he didn’t want others to hear. Teng told the BBC in an email that he had “strong evidence that [shows] a rape attempt accusation is baseless,” but he didn’t elaborate. Teng resigned from two human rights groups after apologizing.
According to the journalist, she asked him to publicly apologize after the incident. She continued on to say that Teng had agreed to do so, but that several of their mutual acquaintances had encouraged her to cease pursuing a public apology because they thought it would give others a chance to discredit their human rights work.
She recounts the trip’s organizer asking her why she is causing difficulties. She continued on to say that it made her feel humiliated. She went on to say that the recent surge of MeToo charges in Taiwan made her realize that “the wound is not healed.” So she contacted Teng two weeks ago, asking for a public apology, prompting him to issue a statement on Wednesday.
Teng felt “extremely guilty” for the damage that she sustained, according to the statement, which was uploaded on Twitter and Facebook. It also said that he had privately apologized to her numerous times and that he will apologize publicly today. He added that, in his memory, he did not lunge at her or prevent her from leaving the room.
Teng, a prominent human rights lawyer in China, was known for exposing Communist Party abuses of power. He used to teach at the China University of Political Science and Law.
