[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 13]
[House]
[Page 19063]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                               LIU XIAOBO

  (Mr. PITTS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PITTS. Madam Speaker, this week, the Nobel Committee will award 
its annual Nobel Peace Prize to Chinese human rights advocate Liu 
Xiaobo, but at the ceremony the chair reserved for Liu will be empty as 
he is serving 11 years in prison for peacefully petitioning his 
government for basic human rights.
  Earlier this year, I was proud to join my colleagues on the Human 
Rights Commission in nominating Liu for the Nobel Peace Prize. Even 
now, the Chinese Government is censoring the news of this award and is 
calling for a boycott of the award ceremony. Sadly, some nations have 
bowed to the wishes of the Communist government. I am particularly 
grieved to hear that Kazakhstan, Morocco, and Iraq will not send 
representatives to the ceremony. These nations should know exactly what 
it is like to have basic human rights denied by an autocratic 
government.
  It is not too late to defy the bullying and intimidation from those 
who have imprisoned a peaceful man. I call on all nations to recognize 
the peaceful struggle of Liu Xiaobo, a man who has no hatred even for 
those who have denied him and his people basic freedoms, of this 
distinguished honor.

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