Preserving Liu Xiaobo Legacy of Freedom & Gold Medal Act
This bill directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to award a Congressional Gold Medal to Liu Xiaobo and collectively to all those who have peacefully advocated for democracy and human rights in China in recognition of their achievements and contributions to freedom, human rights, and peace in China and globally.
The bill expresses the sense of Congress that the Smithsonian Institution should make the medal available for display, particularly at locations: (1) associated with the research of the Tiananmen Protests of 1989 and their violent suppression, and (2) dedicated to preserving the history of the Chinese pro-democracy movement.
[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3960 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
115th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3960
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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
October 4, 2017
Mr. Smith of New Jersey (for himself and Ms. Pelosi) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial
Services, and in addition to the Committees on House Administration,
and Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall
within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
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.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Preserving Liu Xiaobo Legacy of
Freedom & Gold Medal Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) Liu Xiaobo was China's most prominent advocate for
democracy, human rights and freedom and a powerful voice for
peaceful political reform.
(2) Liu Xiaobo, along with other pro-democracy advocates,
sought to raise the Chinese people's awareness of their dignity
and rights by publicly calling upon the Chinese Government to
govern in accordance with its Constitution and the
international human rights agreements it has ratified.
(3) Liu Xiaobo, by his long and visionary leadership, has
become the symbol of two generations of Chinese reformers--he
unites the generation of student who protested at Tiananmen
Square in 1989 and, through his role in Charter 08, a new
generation of rights advocates, human rights lawyers, and
intellectuals.
(4) Liu Xiaobo, and so many other advocates for freedom,
have suffered official retribution and imprisonment for daring
to speak out against a range of human rights abuses across
China. In addition, their family members have faced harassment
and detention in response to their advocacy efforts, including
Liu Xia, who was detained without charges in her home since
2010.
(5) In December 2009, a Beijing court sentenced Liu Xiaobo
to an eleven-year sentence in a Chinese prison for ``inciting
subversion of state power'', in part for his role in Charter
08, a document calling for human rights and political reform in
China.
(6) In May 2011, the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary
Detention issued an opinion declaring that the Chinese
government's imprisonment of Liu Xiaobo contravened the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
(7) In 2010, many persons from around the world nominated
Liu Xiaobo for the Nobel Peace Prize, including the 14th Dalai
Lama, Bishop Desmond Tutu, and Vaclav Havel. In awarding the
2010 Nobel Peace Prize for his ``long and non-violent struggle
for fundamental human rights in China'', the Norwegian Nobel
Committee noted that ``through the severe punishment meted out
to him, Liu Xiaobo has become the foremost symbol of the wide-
ranging struggle for human rights in China''. He reportedly is
the first person since 1935 to win the prize while in prison.
(8) Liu Xiaobo died of late stage liver cancer on July 13,
2017. He was the first Nobel Peace Prize laureate to die in
state custody since Carl Von Ossietzky, who died after being
detained in a Nazi concentration camp.
(9) Liu Xiaobo, and all those part of the pro-democracy
movement in China, are the conscience of the international
community regarding human rights in China and serve as a
constant reminder that human rights, democratic transparency,
and liberty are critical issues of bilateral relations that, if
finally realized in China, will make monumental contributions
to world peace and stronger and more prosperous United States-
China relations.
(10) Awarding Liu Xiaobo the Congressional Gold Medal, and
collectively to all those who have stood for freedom and
democracy in China despite repression, would not only recognize
his contributions to peace, but to global understanding of
China and would further inspire millions of Chinese with the
ideals of freedom he so heroically articulated.
SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.
(a) In General.--
(1) Presentation authorized.--The Speaker of the House of
Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate
shall make appropriate arrangements for the presentation, on
behalf of the Congress, of a gold medal of appropriate design
to Liu Xiaobo or his personal representatives and collectively
to all those who have peacefully advocated for democracy and
human rights in China in recognition of their achievements and
for their contributions to the cause of freedom, human rights,
and peace in China and globally.
(2) Design and striking.--For the purposes of the award
referred to in paragraph (1), the Secretary of the Treasury
(referred to in this section as the ``Secretary'') shall strike
the gold medal with suitable emblems, devices, and
inscriptions, to be determined by the Secretary.
(3) Smithsonian institution.--
(A) In general.--Following the award of the gold
medal under paragraph (1), the gold medal shall be
given to the Smithsonian Institution, where it will be
available for display as appropriate and available for
research.
(B) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of the
Congress that the Smithsonian Institution should make
the gold medal awarded pursuant to this Act available
for display elsewhere, particularly at appropriate
locations--
(i) associated with the research of the
Tiananmen Protests of 1989 and their subsequent
violent suppression; and
(ii) dedicated to preserving the history of
the Chinese pro-democracy movement.
(b) Duplicate Medals.--The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates
in bronze of the gold medals struck pursuant to subsection (a) under
such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, at a price sufficient
to cover the cost thereof, including labor, materials, dies, use of
machinery, and overhead expenses, and the cost of the gold medal.
(c) Status of Medals.--
(1) National medals.--Medals struck pursuant to this
section are national medals for purposes of chapter 51 of title
31, United States Code.
(2) Numismatic items.--For purposes of section 5134 of
title 31, United States Code, all medals struck under this
section shall be considered to be numismatic items.
SEC. 4. HOLDING ACCOUNTABLE CHINESE OFFICIALS COMPLICIT IN LIU XIAOBO'S
IMPRISONMENT.
It is the sense of Congress that the United States Government
should--
(1) seek the release of political prisoners in China,
including seeking the unconditional release of Liu Xia and
ensure her freedom of movement;
(2) condemn all efforts to censor or intimidate the
families of Liu Xiaobo and Liu Xia and censor news and
information about Liu Xiaobo and his legacy;
(3) identify those officials or individuals involved in the
arrest and arbitrary detention of Liu Xiaobo and his wife Liu
Xia;
(4) identify those officials or individuals complicit in
the torture and arbitrary detention of human rights lawyers and
rights advocates such as Xie Yang, Li Heping, Li Chunfu, Gao
Zhisheng, Chen Guangcheng, Jiang Tianyong, Tang Jingling, Wang
Quanzhang, and others peacefully advocating for human rights
and legal and political reforms in China and following in the
footsteps of Liu Xiaobo; and
(5) use the sanctions available under the Global Magnitsky
Human Rights Accountability Act (Public Law 114-328; 22 U.S.C.
2656 note) for those officials or individuals identified under
paragraph (4) because any official or individual complicit in
the torture or arbitrary detention of political prisoners
qualifies for the imposition of sanctions under that Act.
SEC. 5. PRESERVING THE LEGACY OF LIU XIAOBO.
It is the sense of Congress that funds should be authorized to
create appropriate fellowship programs and awards in Liu Xiaobo's
honor, to preserve his ideas and legacy until the Chinese people are
able to do so without censorship or fear, and to advance the universal
ideas of freedom, democracy and human rights in China and across the
globe.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committees on House Administration, and Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committees on House Administration, and Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committees on House Administration, and Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific.
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