[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 17]
[House]
[Pages 23000-23002]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   CALLING FOR RELEASE OF LIU XIAOBO

  Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the 
concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 151) expressing the sense of 
Congress that China release democratic activist Liu Xiaobo from 
imprisonment, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the concurrent resolution.
  The text of the concurrent resolution is as follows:

                            H. Con. Res. 151

       Whereas Liu Xiaobo has inspired untold numbers of Chinese 
     people to stare down their government and demand change;
       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 signers of 
     Charter 08 and was taken into custody shortly before the 
     manifesto was released, has been detained ever since, and now 
     faces charges of ``inciting subversion of state power'';
       Whereas Charter 08 documents the widespread failings of the 
     Chinese Communist Party, calls for urgent and extensive 
     political reforms in China, enumerates and endorses the ideas 
     and principles of freedom, human rights, equality, 
     Republicanism, democracy, and constitutional rule, and 
     enumerates 19 recommendations for political reform within 
     Communist China;
       Whereas Charter 08 says that ``the most fundamental 
     principles of democracy are that the people are sovereign, 
     and that the people select their own government'';
       Whereas Chinese authorities violated Chinese law in 
     handling Liu Xiaobo's case, including keeping him under 
     ``residential surveillance'' beyond the legal time limit and 
     at an undisclosed location, denying him access to his family 
     or lawyers, and refusing to allow a fellow Charter 08 
     signatory to represent him;
       Whereas the signatories of Charter 08 represent numerous 
     strata of Chinese society, including former members of the 
     Chinese Communist Party;
       Whereas the document which caused him to be confined to a 
     windowless room, without access to books or writing 
     materials, is as simple as those in the founding documents of 
     this country which have inspired us all for over 200 years;
       Whereas Liu Xiaobo signed his name to those simple but 
     powerful words despite having already spent 20 months in 
     prison for his part in the 1989 protests in Tiananmen Square, 
     and three years in a re-education through labor camp for 
     challenging China's one-party rule; and
       Whereas Liu Xiaobo's leadership has inspired the Chinese 
     people and the world: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
     concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that China's 
     Government immediately release Liu Xiaobo and begin making 
     strides toward true representative democracy.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Berman) and the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-
Lehtinen) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.


                             General Leave

  Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include 
extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution 
and yield myself such time as I may consume.
  This resolution expresses the sense of Congress that China should 
immediately release democratic activist Liu Xiaobo from prison. I would 
like to thank my friend Mr. Minnick of Idaho for sponsoring this 
important resolution that allows Congress to stand in solidarity with 
Mr. Liu and to express support for the democratic ideals he is fighting 
for.
  Last December, Chinese police hauled away Mr. Liu, a writer, former 
university professor, and a veteran of the 1989 Tiananmen protests just 
hours after the circulation of an online petition he helped organize. 
Called Charter 08, this petition calls for greater development of human 
rights and reform of the Chinese political system.
  Charter 08 has more than 300 original signers, representing a broad 
cross-section of Chinese society, including not only dissidents and 
public intellectuals, but also workers, farmers, entrepreneurs, 
professionals, local officials, and others. The petition was circulated 
widely online and accumulated more than 8,000 signatures throughout 
China before the Chinese Government shut down the Web site.
  Charter 08 was conceived and written in conscious admiration of 
Charter 77, a document issued in 1977 by dissidents in Czechoslovakia. 
The Chinese document calls for an end to some features of China's 
current political system, including replacing one-party rule with a 
system based on human rights and democracy. The courageous Chinese 
citizens who have signed the charter are bravely declaring that the 
status quo in China is unacceptable and unsustainable.
  Instead of thoughtfully addressing the ideas raised by the petition 
and responding to the dissidents, the Chinese Government has sought to 
silence their voices by harassing, intimidating, and arresting them.

[[Page 23001]]

  Chinese authorities violated Chinese law in the handling of Mr. Liu's 
case, holding him incommunicado beyond the legal time limit at an 
undisclosed location and denying him access to his family or lawyers. 
In June, Mr. Liu was charged with subversion. He could face up to 15 
years in jail.
  The Chinese Government seems unaware of the irony of its actions, 
since its efforts to quash Charter 08 only underscore China's failure 
to uphold the very principles that the charter advances.
  I strongly support this resolution and encourage my colleagues to do 
the same.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong and enthusiastic support of this 
resolution which calls for the release of one of the true heroes of the 
democracy movement in China. I want to thank our colleague from Idaho, 
Mr. Minnick, for introducing this measure and for agreeing to include 
portions of the similar resolution that was introduced 4 months ago 
beforehand by my friend, the chairman of the Republican Policy 
Committee, Mr. McCotter.
  As a young professor, Liu Xiaobo served bravely as an advisor to the 
students at Tiananmen Square. For his courageous stand, he was detained 
and imprisoned by the Chinese Communist authorities. Now he has been 
detained again.
  What led to Mr. Liu's detention this time was his promotion of 
Charter 08, which he signed last December on the 60th anniversary of 
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
  Mr. Liu's court sentencing awaits, however, another anniversary. A 
military extravaganza to be staged by China's Communist Party will take 
place tomorrow. Tanks will roll in once again and the sounds of the 
boots of PLA soldiers will echo once more in Tiananmen Square as they 
did on that fateful June night two decades ago when democracy in China 
was killed.
  Tomorrow's holiday, October 1, is remembered as the day in 1949 when 
Chairman Mao stood atop the Gate of Heavenly Peace and declared victory 
for Communist forces. After that, things were neither heavenly nor 
peaceful in China. Mr. Liu saw the need for reform.
  He and his associates took their inspiration for a charter calling 
for greater freedom of expression for human rights and for free 
elections from the Charter 77 movement in Czechoslovakia. One of the 
architects of that movement, democracy advocate and former Czech 
President Vaclav Havel, had this to say about Mr. Liu and his efforts. 
In a December 19, 2008, opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal, Mr. 
Havel wrote, ``The Chinese Government should learn well the lesson of 
the Charter 77 movement that intimidation, propaganda campaigns, and 
repression are no substitute for reasoned dialogue. Only the immediate 
and unconditional release of Liu Xiaobo will demonstrate that, for 
Beijing, that this lesson has been learned.''
  Our words should echo those of that greater fighter for democracy, 
Vaclav Havel. Beijing, open your eyes. That flashy new weapon that you 
will display in tomorrow's military parade is no substitute for the 
torch light of the Goddess of Freedom and the Goddess of Democracy torn 
down in Tiananmen Square.
  Use the October 1 movement, that anniversary, to immediately release 
democratic activist Liu Xiaobo. That would be the best way to 
commemorate China's national day.
  I urge all of my colleagues to join us in vigorous support for this 
important resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BERMAN. I'm pleased to yield 4 minutes to the sponsor of this 
very important resolution, the gentleman from Idaho (Mr. Minnick).
  Mr. MINNICK. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the chairman and ranking 
member for their leadership and for bringing this important issue to 
the floor.
  On May 16, I delivered the commencement address to the 2009 graduates 
of the University of Idaho. During my speech, I challenged each of 
those college graduates to take up the cause of Mr. Liu Xiaobo, an 
intellectual and literary critic who has spent much of his adult life 
imprisoned or under house arrest by the Chinese authorities because he 
had the courage to speak and write that China should allow its citizens 
freedom of speech and urge that it should allow those citizens to 
select their government by free and open elections.
  Today, on the eve of the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic of 
China, Mr. Liu's trial is set to begin any day on charges which could 
lead him to be sentenced for up to 15 years in prison. Mr. Liu has been 
held since officials took him into custody on December 8, 2008, a day 
before the release of Charter 08, a declaration he coauthored that 
calls for political reform, greater human rights, and an end to one-
party rule in China.
  Mr. Liu Xiaobo was formally arrested on June 23, 2009, by the Beijing 
Public Security Bureau and charged with ``inciting subversion of state 
power.'' He has been held under criminal detention while Chinese 
authorities investigate his case.
  In the months after taking Mr. Liu into custody, officials kept Liu 
in residential surveillance under conditions that violated Chinese 
laws, including denying Mr. Liu access to counsel and keeping him at an 
undisclosed location beyond the legal time limit.
  I urge that the Chinese Government, as a much admired global power 
and important partner of my country on many issues important to the 
future of mankind, grant Mr. Liu a free and fair trial. It should be 
open to the public, including representatives of international news 
agencies, where the charges against him will be fairly decided by a 
judge free from political pressure and instructed to consider only the 
law and facts of the case.
  I further urge that Mr. Liu be allowed to be represented by qualified 
counsel of his own choosing, have the right to face and cross-examine 
his accusers, and present witnesses and evidence to prove his 
innocence. If he is allowed to do so, I anticipate he will be cleared 
of all charges, and then urge that he be immediately set free and 
allowed to resume his peaceful pursuit of civil rights and a fully 
democratic government.
  Mr. Liu's leadership has been an inspiration to me and to an untold 
number of people in China and around the world for his courage to stand 
up for civil liberties and to demand that his great and proud nation 
allow free elections at all levels of its government. His courage 
embodies the emerging global consensus that all people should be 
allowed to speak freely and have the right to demand that their country 
be governed by a true representative democracy.
  By passing this resolution, the House of Representatives will be 
sending a strong message that the American people do not condone 
suppression of freedom of thought or expression.
  I thank my colleagues and ask for their support.

                              {time}  1345

  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, it is fitting that we meet here today to consider this 
resolution, for tomorrow, as I said, will mark a day of infamy that has 
profoundly influenced the history of the world for the past 60 years. 
On October 1, 1949, Chairman Mao stood astride Tiananmen Gate in 
Beijing and declared a new communist China. That was the same square 
where 40 years later on a June 9 night in 1989, tanks and troops 
overran students, workers and the goddess of democracy, crushing their 
peaceful cries for democratic reform.
  Tomorrow 200,000 PLA troops will march through Tiananmen Square. In a 
display worthy of the height of Stalinism in the former Soviet Union, 
Beijing's leader will show off the might of their latest military 
hardware. Foreign diplomats have been warned to close their windows and 
stay off their balconies as this parade passes by, however, for fear of 
being shot.
  This is the new China which Mao proclaimed. Some say that we should 
hold

[[Page 23002]]

our tongues with regard to the Beijing regime's actions because that 
regime holds America's pocketbook. Others say that the day of 
accommodation has arrived.
  But I believe that this is a wrong, misguided, and immoral stance. We 
should stand tall for American values and with the goddess of democracy 
and not remain silent in the face of systematic human rights abuses. 
Next week, that ambassador of peace and serenity, His Holiness the 
Dalai Lama, will visit us in Washington. Every President since George 
Herbert Walker Bush has met with the Dalai Lama during his Washington 
visits, despite vigorous protests from Beijing that he is a splittist. 
President Obama should do no less.
  Tomorrow I will join my voice with that of Liu Xiaobo and the other 
signers of the Charter 08 whom we honor in this resolution in calling 
for a new, free and democratic China. This is what we should 
commemorate on October 1, rather than 60 years of repression by the 
Communist regime in China.
  Mr. Speaker, I'm now pleased to yield such time as he may consume to 
Mr. Cao, a member of the Homeland Security and Transportation 
Committees.
  Mr. CAO. I thank the gentlewoman from Florida.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House Concurrent Resolution 
151. Today I urge Congress to demand that China release democratic 
activist Liu Xiaobo from imprisonment. Liu Xiaobo has inspired millions 
of people to stare down their government and demand change. For his 
stance on democracy, he has unjustly been put under house arrest with 
almost no contact with the outside world.
  As the Chinese Government commemorates the 60th anniversary of the 
Communist Party's rule in China, we remember under Communist domination 
millions of innocent Chinese citizens were imprisoned and murdered. Liu 
Xiaobo once wrote that ``the most fundamental principles of democracy 
are that the people are sovereign and that the people select their own 
government. I must ask that the United States, as a representative of 
the free world, stand with the Chinese people and people all over the 
world in fighting for freedom and the abolition of totalitarian 
governments in favor of democracy.''
  We must resolve to demand that the Chinese Government immediately 
release Liu Xiaobo and begin making strides toward a true 
representative democracy.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, 
and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, having no further requests for time, I yield 
back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Berman) that the House suspend the rules 
and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res. 151, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

                          ____________________