[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 22 (Thursday, February 3, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S524-S526]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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  SENATE RESOLUTION 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

  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:

                              S. Res. 503

       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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