Hoyer Statement on the Passing of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Dr. Liu Xiaobo

WASHINGTON, DC – House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD) released the following statement today on the passing of Nobel Peace Price laureate Dr. Liu Xiaobo:  

“I was deeply saddened to learn today of the passing of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dr. Liu Xiaobo.  He will be remembered among the great advocates of freedom of our age.  His political imprisonment by the Chinese government over the past nine years was a reprehensible violation of human rights and will do nothing to stamp out the pro-democratic yearnings that Dr. Liu represented.  Chinese citizens deserve to have a voice in determining their own leaders and the right to demand that their government be responsive to their grievances.  As a former Chairman of the Helsinki Commission at the end of the Cold War, I saw firsthand the eagerness of millions behind the Iron Curtain to end one-party rule in their countries.  All people ought to be able to enjoy the blessings of liberty and the opportunity to chart their own future.  I join in offering my condolences to Dr. Liu’s family and all those who have stood alongside him in support of democracy and freedom in China.”