Chairs Ask International Olympic Committee to Confirm Peng Shuai’s Safety and Intervene on China’s Human Rights Violations

November 24, 2021

(Washington)—Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Representative James P. McGovern (D-MA), the Chair and Cochair, respectively, of the bipartisan and bicameral Congressional-Executive Commission on China, released letters today to senior International Olympic Committee (IOC) officials about Peng Shuai, the three-time Olympian tennis player who disappeared after raising an allegation of sexual assault against a Chinese Communist Party official. 

The Chairs sent two separate letters. The first asks IOC President Thomas Bach to intervene on human rights violations in China in the lead-up to the Beijing Winter Olympic Games, as he has intervened regarding Ms. Peng’s human rights. The second asks Chair of the IOC Athletes’ Commission Emma Terho to take a more active role in defending Ms. Peng and her rights in relation to Ms. Peng’s allegation of sexual assault.

“The silence on the IOC’s announcement on Ms. Peng’s accusation of sexual assault raises concern about the IOC’s sincerity in supporting its community of athletes,” wrote the Chairs to Ms. Terho.

“Your video call with Peng shows that you can in fact use the power of your office to weigh in on a human rights concern inside China,” wrote the Chairs to President Bach.  “It further shows that you, as IOC President, personally can cooperate with Chinese authorities to address a human rights concern.”

In July 2021, the CECC Chairs wrote to IOC President Bach asking him to use the organization’s leverage with the Chinese government to help end genocide and crimes against the humanity in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR). In a response letter, the IOC declined.

The CECC has held two Olympic-related hearings this year, one on July 27 entitled, “Corporate Sponsorship of the 2022 Winter Olympics,” and another on May 18 jointly with the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission entitled “China, Genocide and the Olympics.”

The text of the letter to President Bach can be found here and below, and the letter to Ms. Terho can be found here and below.

*   *   *

Thomas Bach

President

International Olympic Committee

Château de Vidy

Case postale 356

1001 Lausanne, Switzerland

Dear President Bach:

We are writing about the case of Peng Shuai. 

On July 23, 2021, we wrote to you to ask that you use the power of your office to work for improvements in human rights in China, which will host the XXIV Olympic Winter Games in February 2022, in light of the genocide and crimes against humanity that the Chinese government is perpetrating. 

The response we received from the International Olympic Committee was not signed by you but by a subordinate. The letter gave the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) rationale for why it could not intervene on behalf of human rights in the host country. 

On November 21, 2021, you conducted a video call with Peng Shuai, the Chinese tennis player and three-time Olympian who had disappeared from public view following an accusation of sexual assault she made on social media against a former high-ranking Chinese official. Peng’s social media post was immediately taken down and coverage of her case, including by international media outlets, was censored by the Chinese government.

Your video call with Peng shows that you can in fact use the power of your office to weigh in on a human rights concern inside China. It further shows that you, as IOC President, personally can cooperate with Chinese authorities to address a human rights concern. Therefore, we once again reiterate the request that you use the IOC’s substantial leverage to demand that the Chinese government improve human rights prior to the start of the XXIV Olympic Winter Games.

While we are relieved that your November 21 video call showed that Peng was alive, it failed to address many of the continuing concerns about her situation. We do not know whether she has freedom of movement or speech, or whether she is in some form of enforced home detention.  We do not know the state of her mental or physical health following her accusation of sexual assault, much less whether authorities are investigating the subject of her allegation. We do not have an explanation why Chinese authorities continue to censor coverage of her case.

With these concerns, we respectfully make two requests:

• That you schedule a video call with us as soon as possible so we can hear from you directly about whether you will use the power of your office to address human rights concerns in China in the lead-up to the Beijing Winter Olympic Games; and
• That you arrange, using your demonstrated connection with relevant Chinese interlocutors, a video call between Peng Shuai and a small set of journalists from independent international media outlets in order to provide Peng an opportunity, should she choose of her own free will, to speak out over the censorship levied against her and her story by Chinese authorities.

Thank you in advance for addressing our concerns. Please contact the Commission’s staff at the earliest convenience to schedule our video call.

*   *   *

Emma Terho

Chair of the Athletes’ Commission

International Olympic Committee

Château de Vidy

Case postale 356

1001 Lausanne, Switzerland

Dear Ms. Terho:

We are writing about the case of Peng Shuai and her allegation of sexual assault. 

On November 21 you participated in a video call with Peng Shuai, the Chinese tennis player and three-time Olympian who had disappeared from public view following an accusation of sexual assault she made on social media against a former high-ranking Chinese official. Peng’s social media post was immediately taken down and coverage of her case, including by international media outlets, was censored by the Chinese government.

The International Olympic Committee’s announcement of the call quoted you as saying that “I was relieved to see that Peng Shuai was doing fine.” While we share the relief that the video call showed that she was alive, we question whether it is appropriate to conclude, based on a single remote video call, that a person who claimed to have been the victim of sexual assault is “doing fine.” 

Sexual assault can cause not only physical but mental harm. Victims of such trauma can suffer debilitating symptoms that can range from shock, fear or disbelief in the near term, and/or anxiety, fear or post-traumatic stress disorder in the long term.

Ms. Peng’s current situation may make it difficult if not impossible for her to speak to her mental health, even if she chooses to do so, given the heavy censorship of her and her case, and the fact that access to her apparently is controlled by Chinese authorities. 

Further, the silence on the IOC’s announcement on Ms. Peng’s accusation of sexual assault raises concern about the IOC’s sincerity in supporting its community of athletes. Given who the accusation was levied against, Ms. Peng’s decision to do so publicly exhibited not only bravery but a manifestation of her agency as a human being with rights. There is no indication that Chinese authorities are pursuing an investigation of Ms. Peng’s claim, and the censorship suggests they are trying to bury it. The IOC has an opportunity to validate the agency Ms. Peng has expressed and which Chinese authorities are refusing to recognize.

Therefore, we ask you and the IOC leadership to take a more active role in defending Ms. Peng and her assertion of her rights, both in demanding that the Chinese government conduct a diligent and fair investigation of her allegations and ensuring that she has access to any psychosocial support services that she may require.

Thank you in advance for addressing our concerns.