[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 62 (Thursday, April 7, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2080-S2081]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
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. MURPHY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate
proceed to the consideration of Calendar No. 323, S. Res. 503.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
A resolution (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.
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the
resolution, which had been reported from the Committee on Foreign
Relations, with an amendment to strike all after the resolving clause
and insert the part printed in italic, and with an amendment to strike
the preamble and insert the part printed in italic, as follows:
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 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).
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
[[Page S2081]]
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).
Mr. MURPHY. I ask unanimous consent that the committee-reported
amendment to the resolution be agreed to.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The committee-reported amendment, in the nature of a substitute, was
agreed to.
Mr. MURPHY. I know of no further debate on the resolution, as
amended.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there further debate?
Hearing none, the question is on adopting the resolution.
The resolution (S. Res. 503), as amended, was agreed to.
Mr. MURPHY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the
committee-reported amendment to the preamble be agreed to; the
preamble, as amended, be agreed to; and the motions to reconsider be
considered made and laid upon the table.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The committee-reported amendment to the preamble, in the nature of a
substitute, was agreed to.
The preamble, as amended, was agreed to.
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