Liu Xiaobo

Liu Xiaobo, a Chinese democracy activist, is the recipient of the 2010 Nobel Peace Price. It appears that he truly deserves the prize – unlike others who have received it in recent years. We have not heard much about the activities of Liu Xiaobo because the European and American media tend to cover up China’s internal and international acts. China considers his writing to be subversive and has censored his name.

Liu, age 54, was born December 28, 1955, in Changchun, Jilin, People’s Republic of China. His alma maters are Jilin University and Beijing Normal University.

Liu, a Chinese intellectual and writer, is also a human rights activist and a political prisoner in China. He was detained on December 8, 2008, and formally arrested on June 23, 2009, on suspicion of “inciting subversion of state power.” After his trial on the charges on December 23, 2009, he was sentenced on December 25, 2009, to eleven years in prison and two years of being deprived of political rights. This imprisonment is Liu’s fourth prison term. The Chinese government does not like him because he wants democratic elections, freedom values, separation of powers, and accountable governments.

Liu Xiaobo was first detained in June 1989 for his part in the Tiananmen Square protest. He was convicted on charges of “counter-revolutionary propaganda and incitement.” He was then ordered in October 1996 to be re-educated by labor for three years. He was charged with “disturbing public order” for criticizing the Chinese Communist Party. Liu was released in 1999, but apparently he was not yet free. The government built a sentry station next to his home and tapped his telephone line and internet connections. His computer, letters and documents were confiscated by the government in 2004 when he started to write a report on human rights in China. Liu was again detained and questioned in 2007 about his articles being published on websites outside Mainland China.

Liu received the 2010 Nobel Peace Price for “his long and nonviolent struggle for fundamental human rights in China.” The Chinese government was not happy about Liu Xiaobo being nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and warned the Nobel committee that it would be against Nobel principles to give the prize to Liu. All news of the award was censored and some of it was blocked in China. The Chinese Foreign Ministry issued the following statement, “The Nobel Peace Prize is meant to award individuals who promote international harmony and friendship, peace and disarmament. Liu Xiaobo is a criminal who has been sentenced by Chinese judicial departments for violating Chinese law. Awarding the peace to Liu runs completely counter to the principle of the award and is also a desecration of the Peace Prize.”

Human right lawyers and academics attempted to honor Liu Xiaobo with a banquet, but they were stopped by Beijing police. Other meetings to recognize the award were “prevented by authorities, and prominent intellectuals and other dissidents were detained, harassed or put under surveillance.”

After the award was announced, Liu Xia, Liu’s wife, was put under house arrest, but she has not been charged with any crime yet. Facts and quotes are from Wikipedia.

I wrote about Liu in an effort to better dramatize the differences between a democratic republic and a Communistic republic. I think it is very important that people who enjoy liberty be aware that millions of other people live in very controlled environments. I am grateful to live in liberty. Long live the USA!