October 8, 2010
DOESN'T THE PRIZE RAISE THE QUESTION OF WHY NORWAY HAS RELATIONS WITH CHINA TO BEGIN WITH?:
Nobel Peace Prize Given to Jailed Chinese Dissident (ANDREW JACOBS and JONATHAN ANSFIELD, 10/08/10, NY Times)
Liu Xiaobo, an impassioned literary critic, political essayist and democracy advocate repeatedly jailed by the Chinese government for his writings, won the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday in recognition of “his long and nonviolent struggle for fundamental human rights in China.”Mr. Liu, 54, perhaps China’s best known dissident, is currently serving an 11-year term on subversion charges.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry reacted angrily to the news, calling it a “blasphemy” to the Peace Prize and saying it would harm Norwegian-Chinese relations. “Liu Xiaobo is a criminal who has been sentenced by Chinese judicial departments for violating Chinese law,” it said in a statement.
Mr. Liu is the first Chinese citizen to win the Peace Prize and one of three laureates to have received it while in prison.
In awarding the prize to Mr. Liu, the Norwegian Nobel Committee delivered an unmistakable rebuke to Beijing’s authoritarian leaders at a time of growing intolerance for domestic dissent and spreading unease internationally over the muscular diplomacy that has accompanied China’s economic rise.
In a move that in retrospect may have been counterproductive, a senior Chinese official recently warned the Norwegian committee’s chairman that giving the prize to Mr. Liu would adversely affect relations between the two countries.
Liu Xiaobo Nobel win prompts Chinese fury (Tania Branigan, 10/08/10, guardian.co.uk)
The announcement provoked a furious reaction from Chinese authorities, who warned that the decision would hurt relations with Norway."Liu Xiaobo is a criminal who has been sentenced by Chinese judicial departments for violating Chinese law," the foreign ministry said in a statement.
Awarding the peace prize to Liu "runs completely counter to the principle of the prize and is also a blasphemy to the peace prize", the statement said.
Announcing the prize, the Norwegian Nobel committee praised Liu Xiaobo for his "long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China. The … committee has long believed that there is a close connection between human rights and peace."
Liu was detained at his Beijing home in December 2008 after co-authoring Charter 08, a call for democratic reforms in China.
Nobel committee chairman Thorbjørn Jagland said China should expect to be put under greater scrutiny as it becomes more powerful: "We have to speak when others cannot speak. As China is rising, we should have the right to criticise … we want to advance those forces that want China to become more democratic."
As the news was announced, transmission of both BBC news and CNN television channels was interrupted in China.
