[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 112 (Thursday, June 29, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E938-E939]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      H. CON. RES. 67--LIU XIAOBO

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 29, 2017

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this 
legislation, Mr. Speaker, and urge the House to pass this resolution. 
We need to signal the Congress's unanimous support for Liu Xiaobo, and 
his wife Liu Xia, in this time of need.
  The news of Liu Xiaobo diagnosis with terminal liver cancer was a 
jarring shock to everyone who admires this champion of freedom and 
democracy.
  Unfortunately, I have heard talk that the world has forgotten Liu 
Xiaobo. The Chinese state media says he is irrelevant.
  We must never forget this Vaclav Havel of China because his efforts 
to bring human rights and political reforms are so critical to the 
future of of U.S.-China relations.
  We must never forget his enduring contributions--whether during the 
Tiananmen Massacre where he helped save the lives of many students or 
with Charter 08--the treatise urging political and legal reforms in 
China based on constitutional principles.
  For the past seven years, Members of Congress have repeatedly called 
on China to release unconditionally Liu Xiaobo and Liu Xia.
  Today, we similarly ask that the Chinese government end this 
absurdity and its unjust and lawless treatment of these noble 
citizens--release them, allow them to freely meet with friends and 
family, and allow them to seek urgent medical care wherever they 
desire.
  In February 2010, I led a bipartisan group of lawmakers in nominating 
Liu Xiaobo for the Nobel Peace Prize, at the same time nominating two 
other persecuted human rights advocates, Chen Guangcheng and Gao 
Zhisheng, to be joint recipients of that most prestigious award.
  The Nobel Committee rightly awarded the Peace Prize to Liu Xiaobo for 
his ``long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in 
China.'' I attended the Oslo ceremony at the invitation of the family--
along with Leader Pelosi.
  It was a moving ceremony; the now famous empty chair spoke volumes 
about the Chinese Communist Party's abiding fear that human rights and 
democracy will undermine its power.

[[Page E939]]

  I will always remember the moving words of Liu Xiaobo's speech that 
day:
  ``Freedom of expression is the foundation of human rights, the source 
of humanity, and the mother of truth. To strangle freedom of speech is 
to trample on human rights, stifle humanity, and suppress truth.''
  Chinese authorities have gone to great lengths to stifle Liu Xiaobo's 
ability to speak truth to power. In 2009, Liu was given 11 years in 
prison for ``inciting subversion of state power.''
  His wife Liu Xia was also detained in de facto form ``house arrest'' 
since 2010. Liu Xia also is in urgent need of medical care having been 
hospitalized for a heart condition. Over the past year, authorities 
have allowed her to visit her husband only on a very few occasions.
  According to Chinese authorities, Liu's conviction was based on 
Charter 08, a treatise signed by over 300 intellectuals and activists. 
That document states that freedom, equality, and human rights are 
universal values of humankind, and that democracy and constitutional 
government are the fundamental framework for protecting these values.
  Sadly, Liu Xiaobo and Liu Xia are not alone in facing unjust 
repression. As of September 2017, the Congressional-Executive 
Commission on China'' (CECC) Political Prisoner Database, perhaps the 
most complete database of its kind in the world, contains information 
on 1,400 cases of known political or religious prisoners.
  According to CECC's Annual Report, the government of President Xi 
Jinping has engaged in an extraordinary assault on the rule of law, 
human rights, ethnic minority groups, and civil society in recent 
years.
  Under Xi's leadership, the Chinese government has pushed through new 
laws and drafted legislation that would legitimize political, 
religious, and ethnic repression, further curtail civil liberties, and 
expand censorship of the Internet.
  It is tempting to be pessimistic about China's future and the future 
of U.S.-China relations. I am not pessimistic, despite the circumstance 
we consider here today. Constant repression has not dimmed the desires 
of the Chinese people for freedom and reform. I attribute this fact, in 
part, to Liu Xiaobo's ideas and example.
  Nevertheless, the U.S. cannot be morally neutral or silent in the 
face of the Chinese government's repression of fundamental freedoms. We 
must show leadership and resolve because only the U.S. has the power 
and prestige to stand up to China's intransigence.
  The U.S. must not shy away from meeting with China's other Nobel 
Laureate the Dalai Lama or other dissidents. We must use 
Congressionally-authorized sanctions to hold Chinese officials 
accountable for torture and gross abuses. We must connect Internet and 
press freedoms as both economic and human rights priorities. And we 
must demand, repeatedly and clearly, that the unconditional release of 
political prisoners is in the interest of better U.S.-China relations.
  I believe that someday China will be free. Someday, the people of 
China will be able to enjoy all of their God-given rights. And a nation 
of free Chinese men and women will honor and celebrate. Liu Xiaobo as a 
hero. He will be honored along with all others like him who have 
sacrificed so much, and so long, for freedom.