[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 112 (Thursday, June 29, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Page S3866]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 21--URGING THE GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE'S 
REPUBLIC OF CHINA TO UNCONDITIONALLY RELEASE LIU XIAOBO, TOGETHER WITH 
 HIS WIFE LIU XIA, TO ALLOW THEM TO FREELY MEET WITH FRIENDS, FAMILY, 
      AND COUNSEL AND SEEK MEDICAL TREATMENT WHEREVER THEY DESIRE

  Mr. RUBIO (for himself, Mr. Merkley, and Mr. Cruz) submitted the 
following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
Foreign Relations:

                            S. Con. Res. 21

       Whereas Liu Xiaobo has inspired untold numbers of people in 
     the People's Republic of China and globally for his 
     courageous stands for democracy, the protection of human 
     rights, and peaceful change in China;
       Whereas, on December 9, 2008, a diverse group of more than 
     300 Chinese scholars, writers, lawyers, and activists issued 
     Charter 08, a manifesto calling on the Chinese Communist 
     Party to abandon authoritarian rule in favor of democracy, 
     the guarantee of human rights, and the rule of law;
       Whereas Liu Xiaobo was one of the original drafters of 
     Charter 08 and was taken into custody one day before the 
     manifesto was released;
       Whereas, in December 2009, a Beijing court sentenced Liu 
     Xiaobo to 11 years in prison for ``inciting subversion of 
     state power,'' in part for his role in Charter 08;
       Whereas, in recognition of Liu Xiaobo's long and non-
     violent struggle for fundamental human rights in the People's 
     Republic of China, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 
     October 2010;
       Whereas Liu Xiaobo's wife, Liu Xia, has been held in 
     extralegal home confinement since October 2010, 2 weeks after 
     her husband's Nobel Peace Prize award was announced, and has 
     reportedly suffered severe health problems over the years 
     which required hospitalization;
       Whereas, in May 2011, the United Nations Working Group on 
     Arbitrary Detention issued opinions declaring that the 
     Chinese Government's imprisonment of Liu Xiaobo and the 
     detention of Liu Xia both contravened the Universal 
     Declaration of Human Rights;
       Whereas Liu Xiaobo was diagnosed with terminal liver cancer 
     in May 2017 and granted permission to access medical 
     treatment outside of prison, and is currently hospitalized in 
     China;
       Whereas, according to news and family reports, Liu Xiaobo's 
     cancer has metastasized and the Government of the People's 
     Republic of China has refused requests by his family to 
     transfer him to Beijing for medical treatment; and
       Whereas Liu Xiaobo currently cannot freely meet with 
     friends and family or seek medical care outside of China: 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That Congress--
       (1) recognizes Liu Xiaobo for his decades of peaceful 
     struggle for basic human rights and democracy in the People's 
     Republic of China;
       (2) urges the Government of the People's Republic of China 
     to unconditionally release Liu Xiaobo, together with his wife 
     Liu Xia, to allow them to freely meet with friends, family, 
     and counsel and seek medical treatment wherever they desire; 
     and
       (3) urges the President to seek humanitarian transfer from 
     the People's Republic of China for Liu Xiaobo, together with 
     his wife Liu Xia, so that he can seek medical treatment in 
     the United States or elsewhere overseas.

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