Sen. Cruz: ‘Liu Xiaobo’s Work Endures as a Legacy of Peaceful Resistance to Tyranny’
Delivers remarks at Victims of Communism’s ‘Rally for Religious Freedom in Asia’
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) delivered remarks this week at the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation’s ‘Rally for Religious Freedom in Asia,’ an event highlighting religious persecution by communist regimes across Asia. There, he talked about his efforts to support the fight for freedom and human rights against oppressive and violent governments, and celebrated the recent release of Houstonian William Nguyen from Vietnam and Liu Xia, the widow of dissident Dr. Liu Xiaobo, from China.
Sen. Cruz’s remarks may be viewed here and below.
“Good afternoon. It is a pleasure to be here and stand in solidarity for the men and women across this globe who have been persecuted by communism. Victims of Communism does a wonderful job of highlighting the evil, the oppression, the murder, the torture that has been carried out in the name of communism for decades.
“As Americans, we stand with the oppressed people. We stand for the inherent dignity of each and every human being. The desire of each and every person to live free.
“We have moments of celebration. We can celebrate today Liu Xia’s release from China. After far too long being held there, the world spoke up in support of her freedom, and China blinked and allowed her to go free. We wish her late husband, Liu Xiaobo, had been able to join her before that. But yet his courage, his moral clarity speaking out from darkness to the world helped produce freedom.
“We’ve seen also this past week William Nguyen, a Texan who had been wrongfully imprisoned and abused, and many of us spoke out in support of his freedom and he is now free again.
“What we’re gathered here doing today is important. It’s speaking truth. And a word of encouragement: the tyrants of the world fear truth. The tyrants of the world fear light. They thrive in the darkness. And that’s why we must stand united in shining light, in highlighting heroism, in highlighting courage, in speaking out for those like my family, like so many millions across the globe who have seen the jackboot of communism firsthand, who have seen the evil of communism firsthand. Because when we shine a light, when we speak the truth, it’s exactly the same as when Ronald Reagan stood before the Brandenburg Gate and said, ‘Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this Wall.’
“That was viewed by the cognoscenti, that was viewed by the media, that was viewed by all of the intellectuals as hopelessly naive and disconnected. And yet, that same light and truth brought the Soviet Union crashing down. Tore the Berlin Wall to the ground. Reagan famously said that the point those on the left never seem to notice about the Berlin Wall is that the machine guns all point in one direction.
“The same is true for my father’s home land in Cuba. The thing that the apologists for communism never seem to notice is that the rafts in Key West are all going in one direction.
“People vote with their feet, with their lives, and people stand for freedom and we, the American people, we stand in solidarity, in support of human rights and in support of freedom. God bless you.”
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