Title: A resolution 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.
Policy area: International Affairs

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 of athletes participating in the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing.
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 raise questions about the ability and willingness of the IOC to stand up for the human rights of athletes participating in the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic games in Beijing.
The resolution also expresses that China should (1) provide independent and verifiable proof of Peng's whereabouts and that she is safe, (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.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 503 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 503

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.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            February 3, 2022

Mr. Scott of Florida (for himself, Mr. Warner, Mrs. Capito, Mr. Brown, 
   Mr. Hoeven, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Cruz, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Braun, Mr. Van 
    Hollen, Mrs. Blackburn, Mr. Casey, Mr. Cotton, Mr. Warnock, Mr. 
 Johnson, and Mrs. Shaheen) submitted the following resolution; which 
           was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
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 
        People's 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 Peng's 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 Women's Tennis 
        Association Steve Simon requested a ``full, fair, 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 was 
        censored;
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 Women's 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'' over Peng's disappearance and seeks 
        ``independent and verifiable proof'' of her location and condition;
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'' and appeared ``relaxed'', and said she ``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'' by International Olympic Committee 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 Women's Tennis Association suspended all 
        Women's Tennis Association tournaments in China and Hong Kong;
Whereas Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Women's Tennis Association 
        Steve Simon stated, ``In good conscience, 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 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'' activists in China and censored online and public discussion 
        around sexual assault and harassment; and
Whereas athletes from the around the world will be competing in the 2022 Winter 
        Olympic Games in Beijing in February 2022: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, 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 
        of athletes participating in the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in 
        Beijing;
            (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 
        raise questions about the ability and willingness of the 
        International Olympic Committee to stand up for the human 
        rights of athletes participating in the 2022 Olympic and 
        Paralympic games in Beijing;
            (3) the Government of the People's Republic of China would 
        help reduce concerns about athlete safety at the 2022 Winter 
        Olympic Games in Beijing by assuring Peng's freedom and safety 
        and investigating her allegations in a fair and transparent 
        manner;
            (4) the Government of the People's Republic of China should 
        immediately take steps to--
                    (A) provide independent and verifiable proof of 
                Peng's whereabouts and that she is safe;
                    (B) 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;
                    (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;
            (5) by failing to clearly and forcefully challenge the 
        Chinese Communist Party's narrative, the International Olympic 
        Committee has failed to uphold its own stated commitments with 
        regard to ``[r]espect for international conventions on 
        protecting human rights'', as outlined in the Code of Ethics of 
        the International Olympic Committee;
            (6) the conduct of the International Olympic Committee runs 
        counter to efforts by the United States Government, human 
        rights organizations, 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 
        International Olympic Committee should publicly call on the 
        Government of the People's Republic of China to undertake the 
        actions called for in paragraph (4).
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