IV 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 445 
Honoring the life and legacy of Liu Xiaobo for his steadfast commitment 
to the protection of human rights, political freedoms, free markets, demo-
cratic elections, government accountability, and peaceful change in the 
People’s Republic of China. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 13, 2017 
Mr. MEADOWS (for himself, Mr. MCGOVERN, and Mr. SMITH of New Jersey) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
on Foreign Affairs 
RESOLUTION 
Honoring the life and legacy of Liu Xiaobo for his steadfast 
commitment to the protection of human rights, political 
freedoms, free markets, democratic elections, government 
accountability, and peaceful change in the People’s Re-
public of China. 
Whereas Liu Xiaobo was born on December 28, 1955, in 
Changchun, China; 
Whereas Liu Xiaobo received his bachelor’s degree in lit-
erature from Jilin University in 1982, his master’s de-
gree at Beijing Normal University in 1984, and his doc-
torate degree in 1988 in literature, after publishing sev-
eral best-selling books over the course of pursuing his 
doctorate degree; 
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Whereas Liu Xiaobo began his work as a visiting lecturer at 
universities across the world, including Columbia Univer-
sity in New York City; 
Whereas over the tenure of his career, Liu Xiaobo authored 
18 major publications; 
Whereas Liu Xiaobo was active in the Tiananmen Square 
protests, where he initiated the ‘‘Tiananmen Four Gen-
tlemen Hunger Strike’’, which lasted three days; 
Whereas Liu Xiaobo has been credited for saving many stu-
dents’ lives by helping to negotiate their evacuation of the 
square; 
Whereas Liu Xiaobo was detained and jailed for his role in 
the protests (1989–1991), and then jailed again for advo-
cating 
that 
the 
Chinese 
government 
redress 
its 
wrongdoings in the student protest (1996–1999); 
Whereas Liu Xiaobo married Liu Xia in 1996, who has stood 
bravely by his side as a partner and fellow activist; 
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 Char-
ter 08 and was taken into custody just days before the 
manifesto was released; 
Whereas in December 2009, a Beijing court sentenced Liu 
Xiaobo to 11 years in prison for ‘‘inciting subversion of 
state power’’ for his involvement in drafting Charter 08; 
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•HRES 445 IH 
Whereas Liu Xiaobo was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on 
October 8, 2010, ‘‘for his long and non-violent struggle 
for fundamental human rights in China’’; 
Whereas Liu Xiaobo’s wife, Liu Xia, has been held in extra- 
legal home confinement since October 2010, two weeks 
after her husband’s Nobel Peace Prize award was an-
nounced, and has reportedly suffered severe health prob-
lems 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 has also received over a dozen awards 
and honors from several international groups for his work 
as a defender of the press, an outstanding democratic ac-
tivist, and a defender of human rights; 
Whereas Liu Xiaobo was diagnosed with terminal liver cancer 
in May 2017; 
Whereas Liu Xiaobo died on July 13, 2017, while serving his 
11-year prison sentence; and 
Whereas Liu Xiaobo dedicated his life to human rights, not 
only in his own country, but across the globe; 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) recognizes the life and accomplishments of 
Liu Xiaobo; and 
(2) calls for the Chinese government to release 
Liu Xiaobo’s wife, Liu Xia, from house arrest, and 
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allow her to settle in a place or country of her own 
choosing. 
Æ 
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