[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 503 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

<DOC>






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

               April 4 (legislative day, March 31), 2022

  Reported by Mr. Menendez, with an amendment and an amendment to the 
                                preamble

                             April 7, 2022

      Considered, amended, and agreed to with an amended preamble

_______________________________________________________________________

                               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.''; and
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: 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 
        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'', as outlined in the Code of Ethics of 
        the International Olympic Committee, and 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;
            (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 People's 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 People's 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).
                                 <all>