IV 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 837 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the International 
Olympic Committee failed to adhere to its own human rights commitments. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 3, 2021 
Ms. WEXTON (for herself and Mr. WALTZ) submitted the following resolution; 
which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
RESOLUTION 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that 
the International Olympic Committee failed to adhere 
to its own human rights commitments. 
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 Chinese Communist Party’s 
Vice Premier from 2013 to 2018; 
Whereas Chinese Communist Party 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 the People’s Republic of 
China; 
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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 People’s 
Republic of China 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’’; 
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 
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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 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’’; 
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 the People’s Republic of China remains a seri-
ous issue, and highly publicized cases of sexual assault 
continue to surface; 
Whereas the IOC’s acquiescence to the Chinese Communist 
Party regarding Peng’s sexual assault allegations and 
safety concerns diminish global demands for the Chinese 
Communist Party to investigate Peng’s allegations 
through a transparent and comprehensive process; 
Whereas the role of IOC leadership in collaborating with Chi-
nese Communist Party officials to cover up Peng Shuai’s 
allegations of sexual assault and disappearance call into 
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question the organization’s ability and willingness to hold 
abusers accountable and protect athletes participating in 
the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Beijing; and 
Whereas the IOC has provided the Beijing Organising Com-
mittee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Games, con-
trolled by the Chinese Communist Party, approximately 
$890,00,000 ‘‘to ease the financial burden on the host 
cities’’: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep-
resentatives that— 
(1) by cooperating with the Chinese Communist 
Party, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) 
failed to adhere to its own human rights commit-
ments and protect the free speech of Olympic ath-
letes; 
(2) the IOC has once again failed to protect 
athletes from sexual abuse and harassment, and 
should publicly commit to hold sexual violence abus-
ers accountable; 
(3) the IOC’s conduct undermines the efforts 
by the United States Government, human rights or-
ganizations, the Women’s Tennis Association, and 
other international bodies and individuals to secure 
Peng Shuai’s safety; and 
(4) in an effort to regain lost public confidence, 
the IOC should call on the Chinese Communist 
Party to— 
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(A) open an independent and transparent 
investigation into Peng’s allegations; 
(B) publicly commit to hold sexual violence 
abusers accountable; 
(C) cease all censorship of reporting and 
discussions of Peng’s case; and 
(D) allow Peng to leave the People’s Re-
public of China if she so desires, and not retali-
ate against family members remaining in the 
People’s Republic of China. 
Æ 
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