Sen. Cruz: 'Dr. Liu’s Fight Should Not Be Over'

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), in the wake of Chinese dissident Dr. Liu Xiaobo's cancer diagnosis, today urged his colleagues to provide leverage for his release from Chinese prison by passing legislation to rename the plaza in front of the Chinese embassy in Washington, D.C. as "Liu Xiaobo Plaza." This bill, sponsored by Sen. Cruz, passed the Senate by voice vote last year.

"I am deeply saddened by the news of Dr. Liu Xiaobo's cancer diagnosis and I hope that the United States will utilize any and all points of leverage with China to free Dr. Liu so that he can receive the medical treatment he needs. Sadly, forcing such a champion of freedom to fight this grim disease in shackles is what we have come to expect from the People's Republic of China. But this is what authoritarian regimes do - seek to strangle the vibrancy of liberty and extinguish individual freedom."

Cruz continued, "Dr. Liu sought to shine a light into the darkness of Communist China at great cost to his personal wellbeing and his family's safety, especially that of his wife, Liu Xia. His fight should not be over. While we know that Communist China will do nothing from the goodness of its heart, thankfully we have an immediate point of leverage to effect his release if the Senate will swiftly take up and pass legislation to rename the street in front of the Chinese embassy ‘Liu Xiaobo Plaza.' I hope that my colleagues will stand for freedom in China and pass it again. We are running out of time to save China's greatest voice for freedom."

Sen. Cruz has led the effort to rename the plaza in Dr. Liu's honor since 2014, and most recently reintroduced legislation last month with Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.). He has also delivered speeches on the Senate floor in September, October, and November of 2015 to call attention to Dr. Liu's plight and human rights abuses in communist China.

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