Liu Jingyao & Liu Qiangdong: US sexual assault case against Chinese billionaire settled

The defendant was a 49-year-old billionaire who's been dubbed the 'Jeff Bezos of China'. The plaintiff was a 25-year-old Chinese graduate student who said he sexually assaulted her.To get more news about liu jingyao, you can visit shine news official website.

The civil trial would take place in open court - almost impossible in China, but reality in this case, as the trial would take place in Hennepin County, Minnesota, where the alleged crime took place.

But in a stunning turn of events on the eve of their trial, Richard Liu - better known to the Chinese as Liu Qiangdong - and Liu Jingyao have reached a settlement to avoid going to court.

The two are not related, and Liu is a common Chinese surname. The BBC is naming Liu Jingyao as she has previously publicly identified herself.

A statement released by lawyers for both parties on Saturday night said the incident had "resulted in a misunderstanding that has drawn considerable public attention and caused deep distress to the parties and their families".

"Today, the parties have agreed to put aside their differences and settle their legal dispute in order to avoid further pain and suffering caused by the litigation."

Details of the settlement were not disclosed.

The news took many in China by surprise and dominated Chinese social media, where related hashtags on Weibo racked up hundreds of millions of views and comments within hours.

Millions of Chinese planned to follow the trial closely in a legal system far more transparent than China's. Some experts believed Liu Jingyao had a better chance of winning in the US.

Now, with a settlement reached behind closed doors, the case is likely to spark even more speculation and add to the uncertainty of China's beleaguered MeToo movement.
Battle of narratives
Long before the trial took place, the Chinese public's perception of the case was profoundly shaped by a series of video and audio clips showing some of the events of the night of 30 August 2018.

At the time, Liu Jingyao was a student at the University of Minnesota. She had been invited to a networking dinner organised for Richard Liu, the well-connected founder of e-retailing giant JD.com, and other powerful Chinese executives. The two went back to her apartment afterwards.
Liu Jingyao said she was pressured by Richard Liu and other guests to drink excessive amounts of alcohol at the dinner. She said he forced himself on her while they were in a car and she was too drunk to resist. He then followed her to her home and raped her despite her protests, she said.

Richard Liu said she was not overly intoxicated and that she had willingly invited him to her home, where they had consensual sex.

Immediately after the incident, Liu Jingyao told a friend what had happened, who in turn called the police. Richard Liu was arrested, making headlines around the world. He denied wrongdoing and was released the next day.

Weeks later, after an investigation, local prosecutors declined to press charges, saying there were "profound evidentiary problems" that would make it difficult to prove the allegations.