[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 7]
[House]
[Pages 10190-10191]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




      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. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that 
the Committee on Foreign Affairs be discharged from further 
consideration of House Concurrent Resolution 67, and ask for its 
immediate consideration in the House.
  The Clerk read the title of the concurrent resolution.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Hollingsworth). Is there objection to 
the request of the gentleman from New Jersey?
  There was no objection.
  The text of the concurrent resolution is as follows:

                            H. Con. Res. 67

       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 eleven 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, two 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 Chinese Government has 
     refused requests by his family to transfer him to Beijing for 
     medical treatment; and

[[Page 10191]]

       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 House of Representatives (the Senate 
     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 Administration 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.

  The concurrent resolution was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________