1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Dr. Li Wenliang Congressional Gold Medal Act . 2. Findings The Congress finds the following: (1) Dr. Li Wenliang was a 34-year-old ophthalmologist in Wuhan, China, who died from the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID–19) after he sought to draw attention to the spread of the virus despite the Chinese government’s effort to suppress him. (2) Research indicates that the first patient infected with COVID–19 exhibited symptoms in early December 2019, if not earlier. (3) In December 2019, Dr. Li Wenliang notified his colleagues in the medical community in China about the outbreak of COVID–19. (4) On January 3, 2020, after raising concerns about the spread of COVID–19, Dr. Li Wenliang and seven other doctors were detained and questioned by Chinese officials. Dr. Li Wenliang was forced to sign a statement retracting his warnings about the virus and confessing that he had spread illegal rumors. (5) Chinese government authorities played down dangers to the public for weeks as COVID–19 continued to spread, with more than 42,000 confirmed cases in China alone and at least 1,000 deaths reported as of February 11, 2020. (6) Dr. Li Wenliang continued to work at Wuhan Central Hospital despite his knowledge of the outbreak, and appears to have been infected himself with COVID–19 after coming in contact with a patient he was treating. (7) In February 2020, in the hospital where he worked, Dr. Li Wenliang died after contracting COVID–19. (8) Before his death, Dr. Li Wenliang stated, If the officials had disclosed information about the epidemic earlier, I think it would have been a lot better. There should be more openness and transparency. . (9) The people of China expressed their grief and anger on social media after the death of Dr. Li Wenliang with the phrase I want freedom of speech , which was quickly censored by the Government of the People’s Republic of China. (10) The Chinese government inflicted incalculable damage on their own people and the rest of the world by trying to