Bipartisan lawmakers ask Olympic committee to pressure China on Human rights

Bipartisan lawmakers are urging the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to pressure China to improve its human rights ahead of the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing.

The demand comes after Chinese tennis champion Peng Shuai disappeared from the public view after publicly accusing a former high-ranking Chinese official of sexual assault. The international community is concerned over whether Peng is being held against her will.

On Sunday, IOC President Thomas Bach had a video call with Peng, during which the tennis player said she was “safe and well.” However, the Woman’s Tennis Association claimed they are still concerned about her wellbeing and her ability to communicate freely.

The Congressional-Executive Committee on China (CECC), a bipartisan committee focused on monitoring human rights in China, said that the phone call between Bach and Peng shows the influence the IOC can have on Beijing.

“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,” read a letter to Bach by the committee.

“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.”

The committee also sent a letter to the head of the IOC Athletes Commission, Emma Terho. The letter urged Terho to take an active role in defending Peng and her rights.

"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,'" they wrote.