III 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 67 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 10, 2017 

Received and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 

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. 

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 


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HCON 67 RFS 

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 


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HCON 67 RFS 

Whereas Liu Xiaobo currently cannot freely meet with 

friends and family or seek medical care outside of China: 

Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 

2 concurring), That Congress— 

3 (1) recognizes Liu Xiaobo for his decades of 

4 peaceful struggle for basic human rights and democ5 racy in the People’s Republic of China; 

6 (2) urges the Government of the People’s Re7 public of China to unconditionally release Liu 

8 Xiaobo, together with his wife Liu Xia, to allow 

9 them to freely meet with friends, family, and counsel 

10 and seek medical treatment wherever they desire; 

11 and 

12 (3) urges the Administration to seek humani13 tarian transfer from the People’s Republic of China 

14 for Liu Xiaobo, together with his wife Liu Xia, so 

15 that he can seek medical treatment in the United 

16 States or elsewhere overseas. 

Passed the House of Representatives June 29, 2017. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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