FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Today we lost a true champion for freedom and an inspiration to those longing for democracy around the world. Liu Xiaobo used the power of his voice, knowing he would face retribution, so future generations would have, as he said in his 2010 Nobel lecture, “a nation ruled by law, where human rights reign supreme.” He died as he lived, imprisoned by those who feared his voice even as the cancer in his body stole his last breaths. My thoughts and prayers go out to his beloved wife Liu Xia, herself under house arrest, his family and countrymen, and citizens of the world. We join them in mourning the loss of this fearless advocate for the rights of the Chinese people.

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