CNN: “As China celebrated the success of its first spacewalk outside the new Tiangong space station on Sunday, the country’s main aerospace company was drawing attention online for a very different reason. The state-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) has faced a backlash after news emerged that a Communist Party official at its subsidiary had allegedly attacked two prominent space scientists – including an 85-year-old woman. The alleged brutal assault, which took place in early June, was brought to wider public attention on Saturday by a report from the state-run magazine China News Weekly. According to the state media report, Zhang Tao, the party secretary and chairman of China Aerospace Investment Holdings, an arm of CASC, attacked the two scientists after they refused his request to be recommended for membership of the International Academy of Astronautics, a Stockholm-based NGO”

“Wu Meirong, 85, suffered a fractured spine, while 55-year-old Wang Jinnian had several broken ribs and soft tissue injuries all over his body. Both remained in hospital a month after the attack, while Zhang had been ‘going to work as usual,’ according to the report. Repeated calls to China Aerospace Investment Holdings went unanswered on Monday morning. On Chinese social media, many questioned why the incident had been kept from the public for weeks, and why Zhang appeared to have faced little consequences for his alleged violent tantrum. On Weibo, China’s heavily-censored version of Twitter, users flooded CASC’s official account with angry comments demanding answers for the alleged attack. A related hashtag racked up more than 130 million views. Amid mounting pressure, CASC finally issued a statement Sunday afternoon, acknowledging that Zhang had conducted the beating ‘after consuming alcohol’ and announcing his suspension.”