[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 117 (Thursday, July 12, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1004-E1005]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




IN HONOR OF THE ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF THE DEATH OF LIU XIAOBO AND IN 
            RECOGNITION OF PRISONERS OF CONSCIENCE IN CHINA

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. BARBARA COMSTOCK

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 12, 2018

  Mrs. COMSTOCK. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the one-year 
anniversary of the death of Liu Xiaobo, Chinese writer, human rights 
activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Renowned as a freedom fighter, 
he is praised for his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental 
human rights in China.

[[Page E1005]]

  Mr. Xiaobo was instrumental in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, 
one of the most significant protests of communist rule in China.
  Throughout his life, his works were banned and censored by the 
communist Chinese government. Mr. Xiaobo drafted some of the most 
influential literature to protest Chinese communism including The 
Monologues of a Doomsday's Survivor and the October Tenth Declaration 
and created the Independent Chinese PEN Centre, a nongovernmental, 
nonprofit and nonpartisan organization offering free association for 
Chinese writers.
  Mr. Xiaobo was formally arrested four times by the Chinese government 
under such charges as ``inciting subversion of state power.'' His works 
were deemed subversive by the Chinese Communist Party and actively 
censored. On June 26, 2017, Mr. Xiaobo was released from his prison 
sentence on medical parole after being diagnosed with terminal liver 
cancer. Mr. Xiaobo died on July 13, 2017 in Shenyang, China. Many 
believe his imprisonment greatly contributed to his deteriorating 
health.
  Throughout his life, his work received international recognition as a 
defender of freedom from groups such as Reporters Without Borders, the 
Nobel Prize Committee, Hong Kong Human Rights Press, and many others. 
As a Member of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, I feel 
especially motivated to bring to light Mr. Xiaobo's work.
  Today, many others like Mr. Xiaobo are detained by their government 
as prisoners of conscience--a person who has been imprisoned for 
holding political or religious views that are not tolerated by their 
own government. We are grateful to live in a nation where our freedom 
of religion, press, speech, right to assemble and petition the 
government are protected at the highest level. With these remarks, I 
would like to commemorate a wonderful life dedicated to human rights 
and political freedom and bring attention to the many others who are 
threatened with becoming prisoners of conscience.

                          ____________________