[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 497 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 497

Commemorating the life of Dr. Li Wenliang and calling for transparency 
 and cooperation from the Government of the People's Republic of China 
                   and the Communist Party of China.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 11, 2020

  Mr. Cotton (for himself, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Markey, and Mr. Gardner) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
                          on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Commemorating the life of Dr. Li Wenliang and calling for transparency 
 and cooperation from the Government of the People's Republic of China 
                   and the Communist Party of China.

Whereas Dr. Li Wenliang was a 34-year-old ophthalmologist working in Wuhan, 
        China;
Whereas research indicates that the first patient infected with the 2019 novel 
        coronavirus (2019-nCoV) exhibited symptoms on December 1, 2019;
Whereas, in December 2019, Dr. Li notified his associates in the medical 
        community in China about the outbreak of 2019-nCoV;
Whereas, after raising concerns about the spread of 2019-nCoV, Dr. Li was 
        summoned by Chinese officials and forced to sign a statement retracting 
        his warnings about the virus and confessing that he had spread illegal 
        rumors;
Whereas Chinese government authorities played down dangers to the public for 
        weeks as 2019-nCoV continued to spread, with more than 42,000 confirmed 
        cases in China alone and at least 1,000 deaths reported as of February 
        11, 2020;
Whereas Dr. Li continued to work as an ophthalmologist at Wuhan Central Hospital 
        despite his knowledge of the outbreak, and appears to have been infected 
        himself with 2019-nCoV after coming in contact with a patient he was 
        treating for glaucoma;
Whereas, on the morning of February 7, 2020, in the hospital where he worked, 
        Dr. Li Wenliang died after contracting 2019-nCoV;
Whereas, before he passed away, Dr. Li stated, ``If the officials had disclosed 
        information about the epidemic earlier, I think it would have been a lot 
        better. There should be more openness and transparency.'';
Whereas the people of China expressed their grief and anger on social media 
        after the death of Dr. Li, with the phrase ``I want freedom of speech'' 
        emerging as a top trending topic on the Weibo platform;
Whereas the Government of the People's Republic of China continues to limit free 
        expression, and stepped up censorship after online criticism and 
        investigative reports by Chinese journalists suggesting that officials 
        underestimated and underplayed the threat of 2019-nCoV;
Whereas Freedom House has listed China as the ``worst abuser of internet 
        freedom'' in the world for the fourth year in a row, and in the 
        aftermath of the outbreak of 2019-nCoV, there are numerous and well-
        documented instances of the ``Great Firewall'' of China suppressing the 
        free flow of critical and medically important information about the 
        pandemic;
Whereas the Government of the People's Republic of China has endangered the 
        people of Taiwan and people around the world by using its influence to 
        limit Taiwan's access to the benefits of membership in the World Health 
        Organization and the International Civil Aviation Organization, 
        particularly during the current outbreak; and
Whereas the World Health Organization has declared 2019-nCoV a Public Health 
        Emergency of International Concern: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) honors the life and contributions of Dr. Li Wenliang, 
        and extends heartfelt sympathy to his family and to the 
        families of all who have passed during this outbreak;
            (2) expresses its support for the people of China as they 
        face this unprecedented public health challenge;
            (3) expresses gratitude to Dr. Li and all Chinese medical 
        personnel and citizens for their efforts to spread awareness of 
        2019-nCoV and treat individuals who have contracted the 
        disease;
            (4) calls on the Government of the People's Republic of 
        China and the Communist Party of China--
                    (A) to be open and transparent in investigating and 
                responding to 2019-nCoV;
                    (B) to ensure that Chinese citizens and the 
                international community have free and unfettered 
                access, without censorship or social media controls, to 
                information about 2019-nCoV;
                    (C) to cooperate fully with the United States 
                Government, including the Centers for Disease Control 
                and Prevention, in providing medical access, sharing 
                information, and developing treatment to combat 2019-
                nCoV;
                    (D) to cooperate fully with other governments, 
                especially those in Southeast Asia, Africa, Latin 
                America, and other regions whose health systems already 
                face high burdens and are operating from a lower base 
                of capability, as well as international health 
                organizations in combating 2019-nCoV; and
                    (E) to cease efforts to exclude Taiwan from 
                international organizations, including the World Health 
                Organization and the International Civil Aviation 
                Organization;
            (5) affirms the vital importance of Dr. Li's belief that 
        ``[t]here should be more openness and transparency'' in China;
            (6) affirms that freedom of expression is a social good 
        that enables experts to sound public health warnings and helps 
        citizens ensure that their government addresses weaknesses in 
        crisis response; and
            (7) strongly supports the people of China in their demand 
        for freedom of speech.
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