Jailed Chinese Dissident Awarded Nobel Peace Prize

Chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee Thorbjoern Jagland sit beside the Nobel diploma and Nobel medal on the empty chair during the ceremony to honor this years Nobel Peace Prize winner, jailed Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo in Oslo City Hall. Photo by EPA

An empty chair represented imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo at Friday’s ceremony in Oslo, Norway, as groups of protesters gathered outside the Norwegian Embassy and United Nations offices in Beijing, CNN informed.

The Nobel committee announced October 8 that Liu Xiaobo would be the peace prize winner. However, Chinese officials have responded furiously, calling Liu a common criminal and declaring the award a Western plot against China.

Neither Liu, nor his wife, Liu Xia, were allowed to travel to Norway to accept the prize. Liu, who is a literature professor, is currently serving an 11-yar sentence in a Chinese prison for “inciting subversion of state power,” in the government’s words.

“The decision of the Norwegian Nobel Committee does not represent the wish of the majority of the people in the world, particularly that of the developing countries,” said Jiang Yu, a Chinese Foreign Ministry official, as cited by CNN.

During the ceremony, a large number of officers stood guard outside the Beijing apartment complex where Liu’s wife has been under house arrest since her husband’s award was announced.

There was also an increased police presence outside the Norwegian Embassy in Beijing on Friday.

The Chair of the Nobel Committee, Thorbjorn Jagland, has announced that the human rights activists in China “represent the world’s common values and standards.”

He added that Liu has done nothing wrong and “must be released.” After announcing the award, Jagland placed Liu’s medal in the empty chair.

“[The award] is a signal to China that it would be very important for China’s future to combine economic development with political reforms and it is support for those people in China who are struggling for basic human rights,” Jagland has told reporters.

Beijing has put pressure on its allies and other countries not to attend the peace prize ceremony. Of the 19 countries that initially declined to come to the Friday’s ceremony, including Russia, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Iraq and Iran, two had reconsidered, in Jagland’s words – Ukraine and Philippines.

Three other Nobel prize winners were also unable to attend their ceremonies for political reasons – human rights activist Aung San Suu Kyi, Polish trade union leader Lech Walesa, and Russian Cold War dissident Andrei Sakharov. However, spouses or other relatives accepted the awards on their behalf.

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