II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1955 

To award a Congressional Gold Medal to Liu Xiaobo, and collectively to 

all advocates of democracy and human rights in China, in recognition 

of their extraordinary advocacy for liberty and human rights despite 

repression and their impact on world peace and global understanding 

of China, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 5, 2017 

Mr. RUBIO (for himself and Mr. PETERS) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 

Urban Affairs 

A BILL 

To award a Congressional Gold Medal to Liu Xiaobo, and 

collectively to all advocates of democracy and human 

rights in China, in recognition of their extraordinary 

advocacy for liberty and human rights despite repression 

and their impact on world peace and global understanding of China, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Preserving Liu Xiaobo 

5 Legacy of Freedom & Gold Medal Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 The Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) Liu Xiaobo was China’s most prominent ad4 vocate for democracy, human rights and freedom 

5 and a powerful voice for peaceful political reform. 

6 (2) Liu Xiaobo, along with other pro-democracy 

7 advocates, sought to raise the Chinese people’s 

8 awareness of their dignity and rights by publicly 

9 calling upon the Chinese Government to govern in 

10 accordance with its Constitution and the inter11 national human rights agreements it has ratified. 

12 (3) Liu Xiaobo, by his long and visionary lead13 ership, has become the symbol of two generations of 

14 Chinese reformers—he unites the generation of stu15 dent who protested at Tiananmen Square in 1989 

16 and, through his role in Charter 08, a new genera17 tion of rights advocates, human rights lawyers, and 

18 intellectuals. 

19 (4) Liu Xiaobo, and so many other advocates 

20 for freedom, have suffered official retribution and 

21 imprisonment for daring to speak out against a 

22 range of human rights abuses across China. In addi23 tion, their family members have faced harassment 

24 and detention in response to their advocacy efforts, 

25 including Liu Xia, who was detained without charges 

26 in her home since 2010. 


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1 (5) In December 2009, a Beijing court sen2 tenced Liu Xiaobo to an eleven-year sentence in a 

3 Chinese prison for ‘‘inciting subversion of state 

4 power’’, in part for his role in Charter 08, a docu5 ment calling for human rights and political reform 

6 in China. 

7 (6) In May 2011, the U.N. Working Group on 

8 Arbitrary Detention issued an opinion declaring that 

9 the Chinese Government’s imprisonment of Liu 

10 Xiaobo contravened the Universal Declaration of 

11 Human Rights. 

12 (7) In 2010, many persons from around the 

13 world nominated Liu Xiaobo for the Nobel Peace 

14 Prize, including the 14th Dalai Lama, Bishop 

15 Desmond Tutu, and Vaclav Havel. In awarding the 

16 2010 Nobel Peace Prize for his ‘‘long and non-vio17 lent struggle for fundamental human rights in 

18 China’’, the Norwegian Nobel Committee noted that 

19 ‘‘through the severe punishment meted out to him, 

20 Liu Xiaobo has become the foremost symbol of the 

21 wide-ranging struggle for human rights in China’’. 

22 He reportedly is the first person since 1935 to win 

23 the prize while in prison. 

24 (8) Liu Xiaobo died of late stage liver cancer on 

25 July 13, 2017. He was the first Nobel Peace Prize 


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1 laureate to die in state custody since Carl Von 

2 Ossietzky, who died after being detained in a Nazi 

3 concentration camp. 

4 (9) Liu Xiaobo, and all those part of the pro5 democracy movement in China, are the conscience of 

6 the international community regarding human rights 

7 in China and serve as a constant reminder that 

8 human rights, democratic transparency, and liberty 

9 are critical issues of bilateral relations that, if finally 

10 realized in China, will make monumental contribu11 tions to world peace and stronger and more pros12 perous United States-China relations. 

13 (10) Awarding Liu Xiaobo the Congressional 

14 Gold Medal, and collectively to all those who have 

15 stood for freedom and democracy in China despite 

16 repression, would not only recognize his contribu17 tions to peace, but to global understanding of China 

18 and would further inspire millions of Chinese with 

19 the ideals of freedom he so heroically articulated. 

20 SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

22 (1) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speak23 er of the House of Representatives and the Presi24 dent pro tempore of the Senate shall make appro25 priate arrangements for the presentation, on behalf 


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1 of the Congress, of a gold medal of appropriate de2 sign to Liu Xiaobo or his personal representatives 

3 and collectively to all those who have peacefully ad4 vocated for democracy and human rights in China in 

5 recognition of their achievements and for their con6 tributions to the cause of freedom, human rights, 

7 and peace in China and globally. 

8 (2) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For the purposes 

9 of the award referred to in paragraph (1), the Sec10 retary of the Treasury (referred to in this section as 

11 the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall strike the gold medal with 

12 suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions, to be de13 termined by the Secretary. 

14 (3) SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—Following the award of 

16 the gold medal under paragraph (1), the gold 

17 medal shall be given to the Smithsonian Institu18 tion, where it will be available for display as ap19 propriate and available for research. 

20 (B) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense 

21 of the Congress that the Smithsonian Institu22 tion should make the gold medal awarded pur23 suant to this Act available for display else24 where, particularly at appropriate locations— 


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1 (i) associated with the research of the 

2 Tiananmen Protests of 1989 and their 

3 subsequent violent suppression; and 

4 (ii) dedicated to preserving the history 

5 of the Chinese pro-democracy movement. 

6 (b) DUPLICATE MEDALS.—The Secretary may strike 

7 and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold medals struck 

8 pursuant to subsection (a) under such regulations as the 

9 Secretary may prescribe, at a price sufficient to cover the 

10 cost thereof, including labor, materials, dies, use of ma11 chinery, and overhead expenses, and the cost of the gold 

12 medal. 

13 (c) STATUS OF MEDALS.— 

14 (1) NATIONAL MEDALS.—Medals struck pursu15 ant to this section are national medals for purposes 

16 of chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code. 

17 (2) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of sec18 tion 5134 of title 31, United States Code, all medals 

19 struck under this section shall be considered to be 

20 numismatic items. 

21 SEC. 4. HOLDING ACCOUNTABLE CHINESE OFFICIALS 

22 COMPLICIT IN LIU XIAOBO’S IMPRISONMENT. 

23 It is the sense of Congress that the United States 

24 Government should— 


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1 (1) seek the release of political prisoners in 

2 China, including seeking the unconditional release of 

3 Liu Xia and ensure her freedom of movement; 

4 (2) condemn all efforts to censor or intimidate 

5 the families of Liu Xiaobo and Liu Xia and censor 

6 news and information about Liu Xiaobo and his leg7 acy; 

8 (3) identify those officials or individuals in9 volved in the arrest and arbitrary detention of Liu 

10 Xiaobo and his wife Liu Xia; 

11 (4) identify those officials or individuals 

12 complicit in the torture and arbitrary detention of 

13 human rights lawyers and rights advocates such as 

14 Xie Yang, Li Heping, Li Chunfu, Gao Zhisheng, 

15 Chen Guangcheng, Jiang Tianyong, Tang Jingling, 

16 Wang Quanzhang, and others peacefully advocating 

17 for human rights and legal and political reforms in 

18 China and following in the footsteps of Liu Xiaobo; 

19 and 

20 (5) use the sanctions available under the Global 

21 Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act (Public 

22 Law 114–328; 22 U.S.C. 2656 note) for those offi23 cials or individuals identified under paragraph (4) 

24 because any official or individual complicit in the 

25 torture or arbitrary detention of political prisoners 


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1 qualifies for the imposition of sanctions under that 

2 Act. 

3 SEC. 5. PRESERVING THE LEGACY OF LIU XIAOBO. 

4 It is the sense of Congress that funds should be au5 thorized to create appropriate fellowship programs and 

6 awards in Liu Xiaobo’s honor, to preserve his ideas and 

7 legacy until the Chinese people are able to do so without 

8 censorship or fear, and to advance the universal ideas of 

9 freedom, democracy and human rights in China and 

10 across the globe. 

Æ 


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