IOC aided Beijing’s ‘disappearance’ of Peng Shuai, US congressional resolution says
- ‘The IOC cares more about appeasing the Chinese Communist Party and the Olympics’ corporate sponsors than the well-being of Olympic tennis star Peng Shuai’
- Congresswoman calls on Communist Party to stop censoring Peng’s sexual assault claims against a former vice-premier and allow her to leave China if she wishes
A bipartisan pair of US lawmakers introduced a resolution on Friday accusing the International Olympic Committee of helping Chinese authorities whitewash tennis superstar Peng Shuai’s sexual assault claims against a former senior Communist Party official in Beijing.
“Three-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 Chinese Communist Party’s vice-premier from 2013 to 2018,” says the resolution from Representative Jennifer Wexton, a Virginia Democrat, and Representative Michael Waltz, a Republican from Florida.
“The role of IOC leadership in collaborating with Chinese Communist Party officials to cover up Peng Shuai’s allegations of sexual assault and disappearance call into question the organization’s ability and willingness to hold abusers accountable and protect athletes participating in the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Beijing,” it said.
The resolution is the latest sign that Peng’s #MeToo charges have ballooned into a full-fledged crisis for the IOC just two months before Beijing is set to host the Winter Olympics.
