H. Res. 837 
In the House of Representatives, U. S., 
December 8, 2021. 
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 sexu-
ally assaulted and forced into a sexual relationship with 
Zhang Gaoli, who was the senior Vice Premier of the 
State Council of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) 
from 2013 to 2018; 
Whereas PRC authorities have imposed a media and internet 
blackout of discussions of Peng’s case, and the words 
‘‘tennis’’ and the surname ‘‘Peng’’ have been censored 
online within China; 
Whereas, on November 14, 2021, after Peng had not been 
seen or heard from for 12 days, Women’s Tennis Asso-
ciation (WTA) CEO Steve Simon requested a ‘‘full and 
transparent’’ investigation into Peng’s allegations; 
Whereas the hashtag ‘‘#WhereIsPengShuai’’ trended across 
social media worldwide, with the exception of the PRC 
where it is censored; 
Whereas, on November 17, 2021, the WTA received a state-
ment purporting to be from Peng, recanting her abuse 
claim and saying ‘‘everything is fine’’;
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Whereas in response, WTA CEO Steve Simon said the re-
sponse ‘‘released today by Chinese state media con-
cerning Peng Shuai only raises my concerns as to her 
safety and whereabouts’’; 
Whereas in response, the International Olympic Committee 
(IOC) said in a statement that it was ‘‘encouraged by as-
surance 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 ac-
counts affiliated with government-run media, and at the 
same time, Peng has not spoken directly with the media 
or the WTA; 
Whereas, on November 19, 2021, White House Press Sec-
retary Jen Psaki said the White House is ‘‘deeply con-
cerned’’ over Peng’s disappearance and seeks ‘‘inde-
pendent and verifiable proof’’ of her location and condi-
tion; 
Whereas, on November 19, 2021, Liz Throssell, the spokes-
person of the United Nations Human Rights office, 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 allega-
tions of sexual assault’’; 
Whereas, on November 21, 2021, the IOC said in a state-
ment that its President, Thomas Bach, had a 30-minute 
video call with 3-time Olympian Peng Shuai, joined by a 
Chinese sports official and an IOC official; 
Whereas the statement said that, during the call, Peng ap-
peared to be ‘‘doing fine’’ and ‘‘relaxed’’, and said she 
‘‘would like to have her privacy respected’’;
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Whereas the IOC did not explain how the video call with 
Peng had been organized, given the difficulties other con-
cerned parties have had reaching her; 
Whereas, on November 30, 2021, IOC official Dick Pound in 
an interview with CNN defended the Chinese Govern-
ment’s handling of the situation and said the ‘‘unanimous 
conclusion’’ by IOC officials on the call is that Peng 
Shuai is ‘‘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 WTA suspended all 
WTA tournaments in China and Hong Kong; 
Whereas WTA chairman Steve Simon stated, ‘‘In good con-
science, I don’t 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 af-
fairs, 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 PRC has repeatedly detained ‘‘#MeToo’’ activ-
ists in China and censored online and public discussion 
around sexual assault and harassment; and 
Whereas athletes from the around the world are headed to 
Beijing for the Olympic games starting in February 
2022: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Represent-
atives that—
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(D) publicly commit to hold sexual violence 
abusers accountable; 
(E) cease all censorship of reporting and dis-
cussions of Peng’s case; and 
(F) allow Peng to leave China if she so desires, 
and prevent any retaliation against family members 
remaining there; 
(5) by acquiescing to the Chinese Communist Par-
ty’s narrative, the IOC failed to adhere to its own 
human rights commitments and protect the safety and 
free speech of Olympic athletes; 
(6) the IOC’s conduct has undermined the efforts 
by the United States Government, human rights organi-
zations, the Women’s Tennis Association, and other 
international bodies and individuals to secure Peng’s 
safety; and 
(7) in an effort to regain lost public confidence, the 
IOC should publicly call on the Government of the PRC 
to undertake the actions called for in paragraph (4). 
Attest: 
Clerk.