[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 161 (Wednesday, December 8, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2092-E2093]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CONGRATULATING LIU XIAOBO ON NOBEL PEACE PRIZE
______
speech of
HON. SANDER M. LEVIN
of michigan
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, the imprisonment of Liu Xiaobo is a personal
tragedy, a national shame, and an international challenge. The answer
is clear: Mr. Liu should be released immediately.
For his more than two decades of advocating for freedom of speech,
assembly, religion, peaceful democratic reform, transparency and
accountability in China, Mr. Liu is serving an eleven-year sentence in
a Chinese prison for ``inciting subversion of state power.'' Those in
China, like Mr. Liu, who have penned thoughtful essays or signed
Charter 08 seek to advance debate, as the Charter states, on ``national
governance, citizens' rights, and social development'' consistent with
their ``duty as responsible and constructive citizens.'' Their
commitment and contribution to their country must be recognized, as the
Nobel Committee has done, and as we do today, and their rights must be
protected.
The Chinese government has said that awarding the Nobel Prize to Liu
Xiaobo ``shows a lack of respect for China's judicial system.'' I would
like to take a moment to examine this claim. For it seems to me that
what truly showed a lack of respect for China's judicial system were
the numerous and well-documented violations of Chinese legal
protections
[[Page E2093]]
for criminal defendants that marred Mr. Liu's trial from the outset. I
refer here to matters such as the failure of Chinese prosecutors
adequately to consult defense lawyers, and the speed with which
prosecutors acted in indicting Mr. Liu and bringing him to trial,
effectively denying his lawyers sufficient time to review the state's
evidence and to prepare for his defense. Chinese officials prevented
Mr. Liu's wife from attending his trial, in which she had hoped to
testify on behalf of her husband. Mr. Liu's lawyers reportedly were
ordered by state justice officials not to grant interviews. It is these
abuses committed by Chinese officials in China, not the actions of a
committee in Oslo, that demonstrated ``a lack of respect for China's
judicial system.''
All nations have the responsibility to ensure fairness and
transparency in judicial proceedings. The effective implementation of
basic human rights and the ability of all people in China to live under
the rule of law depend on careful attention to, and transparent
compliance with, procedural norms and safeguards that meet
international standards. I serve as Cochairman of the Congressional-
Executive Commission on China (CECC). The Commission's Political
Prisoner Database, which is available to the public on-line via the
Commission's web site, www.cecc.gov, contains information on thousands
of political prisoners in China. These are individuals who have been
imprisoned by the Chinese government for exercising their civil and
political rights under China's Constitution and laws or under China's
international human rights obligations. The enhancement of the database
that the Commission announced this past summer roughly doubled the
types of information available to the public, enabling individuals,
organizations, and governments to better report on political
imprisonment in China and to more effectively advocate on behalf of
Chinese political prisoners. And people around the world have been
using the database to do just that. The number of ``hits'' to the
database from individual users, NGOs, academic institutions and
governments around the world has skyrocketed. The database makes clear
that political imprisonment in China is well-documented, it is a
practice whereby the Chinese government has shown disrespect for the
law not only in Liu Xiaobo's case, but in thousands of other cases, and
it must end.
Unfortunately, the end to political imprisonment in China does not
appear likely at this time. Since the Nobel Committee's announcement,
Mr. Liu's wife, Liu Xia, has been harassed relentlessly, and remains
confined virtually incommunicado under what appears to be house arrest.
In the weeks following the Nobel Committee's announcement, there have
been over 100 documented incidents in which Chinese citizens have been
harassed, interrogated, subjected to police surveillance, detained or
placed under house arrest for their expressions of support for Liu.
Articles in China's official state-run media have attacked the Nobel
committee and painted a harshly negative portrait of Liu. Chinese
authorities have attempted to limit the dissemination of information
about Liu's receiving the Nobel Prize. Chinese officials have censored
unauthorized references to Liu on the Internet and cell phones and
blocked access to news about Liu from outside China. Chinese officials
have imposed severe travel restrictions on Chinese activists, scholars,
and lawyers whom they fear will attempt to attend the Nobel peace prize
award ceremony in Norway on December 10. In the last month, Beijing
police reportedly have prevented leading scholars and lawyers from
boarding flights to attend international conferences for fear they will
attend the Nobel peace prize award ceremony. Other public intellectuals
physically have been prevented by police from meeting foreign
reporters.
The Director of the Nobel Institute said China's pressure on other
governments to boycott this year's ceremony has been unprecedented in
his twenty years as Director. China's G20 negotiator said that
countries sending officials to attend the award ceremony honoring Mr.
Liu must be ready to ``accept the consequences.'' Diplomats report that
the Chinese Embassy in Oslo has sent official letters to foreign
embassies in the Norwegian capital asking them not to make statements
in support of Liu, and not to attend the Nobel awards ceremony on
December 10. This is not the behavior of a strong, responsible
government.
As Liu Xia said the morning her husband was selected to receive the
Nobel Prize, ``China's new status in the world comes with increased
responsibility. China should embrace this responsibility, and have
pride in his selection and release him from prison.'' As Nobel laureate
Vaclav Havel correctly noted, ``intimidation, propaganda, and
repression are no substitute for reasoned dialogue. . . .'' And as
Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu recently wrote together with Vaclav Havel:
We know that many wrongs have been perpetrated against
China and its people throughout history. But awarding the
Nobel Peace Prize to Liu is not one of them. Nor is the
peaceful call for reform from the more than 10,000 Chinese
citizens who dared to sign Charter 08. . . . China has a
chance to show that it is a forward-looking nation, and can
show the world that it has the confidence to face criticism
and embrace change. . . . This is a moment for China to open
up once again, to give its people the ability to compete in
the marketplace of ideas. . . .
I take particular note of the words of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao,
who, in a recent interview with CNN, stated:
Freedom of speech is indispensable. . . . The people's
wishes for, and needs for, democracy and freedom are
irresistible.''
Sadly, the Chinese government clearly has shown the world, through
its mistreatment of Liu Xiaobo and countless others, that Premier Wen's
words are not the basis for government action in China.
This Resolution shines a light on the Chinese government's failure to
enforce basic human rights, and underlines that China once again is at
an important crossroads, and seems to be turning in the wrong
direction. This has implications not only for the development of
institutions of democratic governance in China, but also for the United
States in managing our relations with China.
I am pleased to co-sponsor this important Resolution.
____________________