Expressing the sense of the Senate that the Government of the People's Republic of China should immediately guarantee the safety and freedom of tennis star Peng Shuai.

Expressing the sense of the Senate that the Government of the People's Republic of China should immediately guarantee the safety and freedom of tennis star Peng Shuai. Whereas, on November 2, 2021, 3-time Olympian Peng Shuai went missing after she said in a since-deleted post on Chinese social media site Weibo that she had been sexually assaulted and forced into a sexual relationship with Zhang Gaoli, who was the senior Vice Premier of the State Council of the Peoples Republic of China from 2013 to 2018; Whereas authorities of the People's Republic of China imposed a media and internet blackout of discussions of Pengs case; Whereas, on November 14, 2021, after Peng had not been seen or heard from for 12 days, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Womens Tennis Association Steve Simon requested a full, fair, and transparent Whereas the hashtag #WhereIsPengShuai Whereas, on November 17, 2021, the Women's Tennis Association received a statement purporting to be from Peng, recanting her abuse claim and saying everything is fine Whereas, in response, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Womens Tennis Association Steve Simon said the statement released today by Chinese state media concerning Peng Shuai only raises my concerns as to her safety and whereabouts Whereas the International Olympic Committee said in a statement that it was encouraged by assurances that she is safe Whereas, on November 19 and 20, 2021, photos and videos of Peng appearing in her home, in a restaurant, and at a youth tennis event in Beijing emerged on Twitter accounts affiliated with government-run media; Whereas, on November 19, 2021, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the White House is deeply concerned independent and verifiable proof Whereas, on November 19, 2021, Liz Throssell, the spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, told reporters it would be important to have proof of her whereabouts and wellbeing, and we would urge that there be an investigation with full transparency into her allegations of sexual assault Whereas, on November 21, 2021, the International Olympic Committee said in a statement that its President, Thomas Bach, had a 30-minute video call with Peng, joined by a Chinese sports official and an official of the International Olympic Committee; Whereas the statement said that, during the call, Peng appeared to be doing fine relaxed would like to have her privacy respected Whereas the International Olympic Committee did not explain how the video call with Peng had been organized, given the difficulties other concerned parties have had reaching her; Whereas, on November 30, 2021, in an interview with CNN, International Olympic Committee official Dick Pound defended the handling of the situation by the Government of the People's Republic of China and said the unanimous conclusion fine Whereas the annual report of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China for 2020 finds that gender-based violence in China remains a serious issue, and highly publicized cases of sexual assault continue to surface; Whereas, on December 1, 2021, the Women's Tennis Association suspended all Women's Tennis Association tournaments in China and Hong Kong; Whereas Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Womens Tennis Association Steve Simon stated, In good conscience, I dont see how I can ask our athletes to compete there when Peng Shuai is not allowed to communicate freely and has seemingly been pressured to contradict her allegation of sexual assault. Given the current state of affairs, I am also greatly concerned about the risks that all of our players and staff could face if we were to hold events in China in 2022. Whereas the Government of the People's Republic of China has repeatedly detained #MeToo That it is the sense of the Senate that (1) the case of Peng Shuai is directly related to broader international concerns around the freedom of speech and safety in China; (2) the failure of the International Olympic Committee to clearly and forcefully challenge the claims of the Government of the People's Republic of China concerning Peng's safety raises questions about the ability and willingness of the International Olympic Committee to stand up for the human rights of athletes participating in the Olympic and Paralympic games in Beijing, as well as in future games; (3) the Government of the People's Republic of China should immediately take steps to (A) allow Peng to provide independent and verifiable proof of her own whereabouts and safety without retribution; (B) allow Peng to engage directly with the Women's Tennis Association and the United Nations to independently verify her safety and explain her absences from public life since making her allegation; (C) open an independent and transparent investigation into Peng's allegations against former senior Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli; (D) publicly commit to hold sexual violence abusers accountable; (E) cease all censorship of reporting and discussions of Peng's case; and (F) allow Peng to leave China if she so desires and prevent any retaliation against family members remaining there; (4) the International Olympic Committee, by failing to clearly and forcefully challenge the Chinese Communist Party's narrative, has failed to uphold its own stated commitments with regard to [r]espect for international conventions on protecting human rights (5) to regain lost public confidence, the International Olympic Committee should publicly call on the Government of the People's Republic of China to undertake the actions called for in paragraph (3); and (6) to demonstrate commitment to Olympic athletes and their human rights, the International Olympic Committee should deny the ability of the Peoples Republic of China to serve as an Olympic Games host nation or to bid to become a future Olympic Games host nation until the Government of the Peoples Republic of China ceases its horrific abuses of internationally recognized human rights, including the genocide against the Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities, and undertakes the actions called for in paragraph (3).

Summary: This resolution expresses the sense of the Senate that the case of Peng Shuai is directly related to broader international concerns around the freedom of speech and safety in China. The resolution expresses that the failure of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to clearly and forcefully challenge the claims of China concerning Peng's safety raises questions about the ability and willingness of the IOC to stand up for the human rights of athletes participating in the Olympic and Paralympic games in Beijing, as well as in future games. The resolution also expresses that China should (1) allow Peng to provide independent and verifiable proof of her own whereabouts and safety without retribution, (2) allow Peng to engage directly with the Women's Tennis Association and the United Nations to independently verify her safety and explain her absence from public life since making her allegation, (3) open an independent and transparent investigation into Peng's allegations against former senior Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli, (4) publicly commit to holding sexual violence abusers accountable, (5) cease all censorship of reporting and discussions of Peng's case, and (6) allow Peng to leave China if she so desires and prevent any retaliation against her family members remaining there. Finally, the resolution expresses that, by failing to clearly and forcefully challenge the Chinese Communist Party's narrative, the IOC has failed to uphold its own stated commitments with regard to respect for international conventions on protecting human rights.