[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 120 (Monday, July 17, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H5887-H5888]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     MOURNING THE PASSING OF NOBEL PEACE PRIZE LAUREATE, LIU XIAOBO

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Michigan (Mr. Levin) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to mourn the passing of the 
Chinese human rights advocate and Nobel Prize Laureate, Liu Xiaobo, who 
died last Thursday in China, under guard.
  The world has lost an incomparably courageous advocate who was 
dedicated to advancing human rights and the rule of law, and paid for 
them with his own freedom and life.
  Liu's passing last week in Chinese custody marked a tragic end to 
over a decade of persecution by the Chinese authorities who 
relentlessly mistreated him as he gradually became a symbol of the pro-
democracy movement around the globe.
  In 2010, the Nobel Peace Committee awarded him the Peace Prize for 
his thoughtful advocacy for reform and for his courageous support of 
the pro-democracy document Charter 08.
  A year prior to the Nobel Peace Prize being awarded to Liu, in 2009, 
Chinese authorities tried him for subversion of state power, for which 
he received an 11-year sentence. Given his rising stature in the 
international community, they imprisoned him in secret locations away 
from family, supporters, or international media. They kept him from 
receiving the Peace Prize and put pressure on the committee to rescind 
the award, in addition to doing everything they could to prevent Liu's 
supporters from attending the ceremony in Norway.
  They routinely censored and continue to censor the internet for 
references to Liu and other pro-democracy advocates and ideas.
  China was so afraid of the power of his words and the bravery of his 
actions that while Liu was suffering from severe illness, Chinese 
authorities adopted the ultimate cruelty of not letting him leave China 
for medical help that experts said might save his life. For China, the 
supreme goal was his silence.
  The more we care about human rights and freedom, the more we must now 
mark his death and remember him not by being silent ourselves.
  I first came to know about Liu's work a few years after the 
Congressional-Executive Commission on China was created as part of the 
debate over China's ascension to the World Trade Organization and 
concerns from Members of Congress over China's human rights record.
  In 2000, I coauthored the legislation that created the China 
commission to help advance and monitor human rights abuses in China. 
The commission continues to do important work and continues today by 
shining a spotlight on many issues such as abuses in labor, 
environment, and freedom of speech and association.
  While he was the most prominent voice in China against its repression 
of human rights and democratic values, Liu was not as well known in his 
life as another brave voice, Andrei Sakharov. His voice and action 
occurred during the Cold War, where there was a full press against the 
Soviet Union, including its suppression of freedom. He supported 
numerous efforts for freedom, including those of another noble warrior 
for freedom, Natan Sharansky. Like Sakharov, Liu was awarded the Nobel 
Peace Prize, but both were kept in virtual imprisonment and not allowed 
to go to Stockholm.
  Liu's battles for freedom occurred when China's economic and 
political power were rising. The United States and other nations were 
wrestling with how to adapt, and relations with China have been 
increasingly infused with concerns about security, including the 
nuclearization of North Korea. So there has been a tendency for 
concerns in other nations about human rights and freedom in China to 
take a back seat.
  This is a major change from the days of Tiananmen Square, and events 
elsewhere then in China. My son, Andy Levin was in Chengdu during 
demonstrations there for freedom and he managed amidst all the 
dangerous turbulence to cable a vivid article about the struggle for 
freedom there to the Detroit News.
  Chinese authorities have also relentlessly harassed his widow, Liu 
Xia (Lew Tsia), by keeping her in isolation, under house arrest for 
weeks at a time, and monitoring her every move. For as long as she 
remains there, the

[[Page H5888]]

authorities will continue to see her as a symbol of dissent, and 
continue to harass her in every way imaginable.
  The U.S. government at all levels, including the highest, must speak 
up clearly for her freedom.
  I end today by leaving you with Liu words to his wife on the last day 
before his trial for subversion of state power in 2009:
  ``Even if I am crushed into powder, I will embrace you with ashes. I 
will calmly face the impending trial, with no regrets for my choices, 
and will look forward with hope to tomorrow.''

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