[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1955 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1955

To award a Congressional Gold Medal to Liu Xiaobo, and collectively to 
all advocates of democracy and human rights in China, in recognition of 
   their extraordinary advocacy for liberty and human rights despite 
repression and their impact on world peace and global understanding of 
                     China, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 5, 2017

 Mr. Rubio (for himself and Mr. Peters) introduced the following bill; 
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, 
                           and Urban Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To award a Congressional Gold Medal to Liu Xiaobo, and collectively to 
all advocates of democracy and human rights in China, in recognition of 
   their extraordinary advocacy for liberty and human rights despite 
repression and their impact on world peace and global understanding of 
                     China, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Preserving Liu Xiaobo Legacy of 
Freedom & Gold Medal Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) Liu Xiaobo was China's most prominent advocate for 
        democracy, human rights and freedom and a powerful voice for 
        peaceful political reform.
            (2) Liu Xiaobo, along with other pro-democracy advocates, 
        sought to raise the Chinese people's awareness of their dignity 
        and rights by publicly calling upon the Chinese Government to 
        govern in accordance with its Constitution and the 
        international human rights agreements it has ratified.
            (3) Liu Xiaobo, by his long and visionary leadership, has 
        become the symbol of two generations of Chinese reformers--he 
        unites the generation of student who protested at Tiananmen 
        Square in 1989 and, through his role in Charter 08, a new 
        generation of rights advocates, human rights lawyers, and 
        intellectuals.
            (4) Liu Xiaobo, and so many other advocates for freedom, 
        have suffered official retribution and imprisonment for daring 
        to speak out against a range of human rights abuses across 
        China. In addition, their family members have faced harassment 
        and detention in response to their advocacy efforts, including 
        Liu Xia, who was detained without charges in her home since 
        2010.
            (5) In December 2009, a Beijing court sentenced Liu Xiaobo 
        to an eleven-year sentence in a Chinese prison for ``inciting 
        subversion of state power'', in part for his role in Charter 
        08, a document calling for human rights and political reform in 
        China.
            (6) In May 2011, the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary 
        Detention issued an opinion declaring that the Chinese 
        Government's imprisonment of Liu Xiaobo contravened the 
        Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
            (7) In 2010, many persons from around the world nominated 
        Liu Xiaobo for the Nobel Peace Prize, including the 14th Dalai 
        Lama, Bishop Desmond Tutu, and Vaclav Havel. In awarding the 
        2010 Nobel Peace Prize for his ``long and non-violent struggle 
        for fundamental human rights in China'', the Norwegian Nobel 
        Committee noted that ``through the severe punishment meted out 
        to him, Liu Xiaobo has become the foremost symbol of the wide-
        ranging struggle for human rights in China''. He reportedly is 
        the first person since 1935 to win the prize while in prison.
            (8) Liu Xiaobo died of late stage liver cancer on July 13, 
        2017. He was the first Nobel Peace Prize laureate to die in 
        state custody since Carl Von Ossietzky, who died after being 
        detained in a Nazi concentration camp.
            (9) Liu Xiaobo, and all those part of the pro-democracy 
        movement in China, are the conscience of the international 
        community regarding human rights in China and serve as a 
        constant reminder that human rights, democratic transparency, 
        and liberty are critical issues of bilateral relations that, if 
        finally realized in China, will make monumental contributions 
        to world peace and stronger and more prosperous United States-
        China relations.
            (10) Awarding Liu Xiaobo the Congressional Gold Medal, and 
        collectively to all those who have stood for freedom and 
        democracy in China despite repression, would not only recognize 
        his contributions to peace, but to global understanding of 
        China and would further inspire millions of Chinese with the 
        ideals of freedom he so heroically articulated.

SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.

    (a) In General.--
            (1) Presentation authorized.--The Speaker of the House of 
        Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate 
        shall make appropriate arrangements for the presentation, on 
        behalf of the Congress, of a gold medal of appropriate design 
        to Liu Xiaobo or his personal representatives and collectively 
        to all those who have peacefully advocated for democracy and 
        human rights in China in recognition of their achievements and 
        for their contributions to the cause of freedom, human rights, 
        and peace in China and globally.
            (2) Design and striking.--For the purposes of the award 
        referred to in paragraph (1), the Secretary of the Treasury 
        (referred to in this section as the ``Secretary'') shall strike 
        the gold medal with suitable emblems, devices, and 
        inscriptions, to be determined by the Secretary.
            (3) Smithsonian institution.--
                    (A) In general.--Following the award of the gold 
                medal under paragraph (1), the gold medal shall be 
                given to the Smithsonian Institution, where it will be 
                available for display as appropriate and available for 
                research.
                    (B) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of the 
                Congress that the Smithsonian Institution should make 
                the gold medal awarded pursuant to this Act available 
                for display elsewhere, particularly at appropriate 
                locations--
                            (i) associated with the research of the 
                        Tiananmen Protests of 1989 and their subsequent 
                        violent suppression; and
                            (ii) dedicated to preserving the history of 
                        the Chinese pro-democracy movement.
    (b) Duplicate Medals.--The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates 
in bronze of the gold medals struck pursuant to subsection (a) under 
such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, at a price sufficient 
to cover the cost thereof, including labor, materials, dies, use of 
machinery, and overhead expenses, and the cost of the gold medal.
    (c) Status of Medals.--
            (1) National medals.--Medals struck pursuant to this 
        section are national medals for purposes of chapter 51 of title 
        31, United States Code.
            (2) Numismatic items.--For purposes of section 5134 of 
        title 31, United States Code, all medals struck under this 
        section shall be considered to be numismatic items.

SEC. 4. HOLDING ACCOUNTABLE CHINESE OFFICIALS COMPLICIT IN LIU XIAOBO'S 
              IMPRISONMENT.

    It is the sense of Congress that the United States Government 
should--
            (1) seek the release of political prisoners in China, 
        including seeking the unconditional release of Liu Xia and 
        ensure her freedom of movement;
            (2) condemn all efforts to censor or intimidate the 
        families of Liu Xiaobo and Liu Xia and censor news and 
        information about Liu Xiaobo and his legacy;
            (3) identify those officials or individuals involved in the 
        arrest and arbitrary detention of Liu Xiaobo and his wife Liu 
        Xia;
            (4) identify those officials or individuals complicit in 
        the torture and arbitrary detention of human rights lawyers and 
        rights advocates such as Xie Yang, Li Heping, Li Chunfu, Gao 
        Zhisheng, Chen Guangcheng, Jiang Tianyong, Tang Jingling, Wang 
        Quanzhang, and others peacefully advocating for human rights 
        and legal and political reforms in China and following in the 
        footsteps of Liu Xiaobo; and
            (5) use the sanctions available under the Global Magnitsky 
        Human Rights Accountability Act (Public Law 114-328; 22 U.S.C. 
        2656 note) for those officials or individuals identified under 
        paragraph (4) because any official or individual complicit in 
        the torture or arbitrary detention of political prisoners 
        qualifies for the imposition of sanctions under that Act.

SEC. 5. PRESERVING THE LEGACY OF LIU XIAOBO.

    It is the sense of Congress that funds should be authorized to 
create appropriate fellowship programs and awards in Liu Xiaobo's 
honor, to preserve his ideas and legacy until the Chinese people are 
able to do so without censorship or fear, and to advance the universal 
ideas of freedom, democracy and human rights in China and across the 
globe.
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