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