Nobel Peace Prize awarded to China dissident Liu Xiaobo

 

Jailed Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo has been named the winner of the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize.

 

Making the announcement in Oslo, Nobel Committee president Thorbjoern Jagland said Mr Liu was "the foremost symbol of the wide-ranging struggle for human rights in China".

 

Mr Liu's wife and some Western nations have called for his immediate release.

 

 

China said the award was a violation of Nobel principles and could damage relations with Norway.

 

Mr Jagland admitted he knew the choice would be controversial. He told local television before the announcement: "You'll understand when you hear the name."

'Curtailed freedom'

 

Mr Jagland, reading the citation, said China's new status in the world "must entail increased responsibility".

 

China is in breach of several international agreements to which it is a signatory, as well as of its own provisions concerning political rights."

 

Mr Jagland said that, in practice, freedoms enshrined in China's constitution had "proved to be distinctly curtailed for China's citizens".

 

Mr Jagland said the choice of Mr Liu had become clear early in the selection process.

 

Mr Liu, 54, who was a key leader in the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989, was jailed for 11 years on Christmas Day last year for drafting Charter 08, which called for multiparty democracy and respect for human rights in China.

 

The Nobel Foundation citation read: "Liu has consistently maintained that the sentence violates both China's own constitution and fundamental human rights."

 

Ending the citation, Mr Jagland said: "The campaign to establish universal human rights in China is being waged by many Chinese, both in China itself and abroad.

 

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Liu Xiaobo's wife talks to the BBC about visiting her husband

 

"Through the severe punishment meted out to him, Liu has become the foremost symbol of this wide-ranging struggle for human rights in China."

 

Beijing quickly condemned the award, saying it could damage China-Norway relations.

 

Foreign ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said: "Liu Xiaobo is a criminal who violated Chinese law. It's a complete violation of the principles of the prize and an insult to the Peace Prize itself for the Nobel committee to award the prize to such a person."

 

Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said it would be "negative for China's reputation in the world" if it chose to punish Norway over the award.

 

Mr Liu's wife, Liu Xia, said she was "so excited" by the award.

 

She told AFP news agency: "I want to thank everyone for supporting Liu Xiaobo. I strongly ask that the Chinese government release Liu."

 

Mrs Liu said police had informed her they would take her to Mr Liu's prison in the north-eastern province of Liaoning on Saturday so she could give him the news.

 

The prize is worth 10 million Swedish crowns ($1.5m; £944,000) and will be awarded in Oslo on 10 December.

 

German government spokesman Steffen Seibert said China should free Mr Liu so he could attend the ceremony.

 

France's Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner also welcomed the award and called on China to release Mr Liu.

 

UN human rights commissioner Navi Pillay said the prize recognised a "very prominent human rights defender".

 

The London-based rights group Amnesty International said Mr Liu was a "worthy winner".

 

But Catherine Baber, Amnesty's deputy Asia-Pacific director, added: "This award can only make a real difference if it prompts more international pressure on China to release Liu, along with the numerous other prisoners of conscience languishing in Chinese jails."

 

No candidates are announced ahead of the Peace Prize but others mentioned in the media included Afghan women's rights activist Sima Samar, Russian human rights activist Svetlana Gannushkina, former German chancellor Helmut Kohl and Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.

 

The Nobel committee had to defend last year's controversial Peace Prize choice of US President Barack Obama.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11499098

Seriously, noone has anything to ad to this?

what else can we add?

 

i don't see the :o about it, i mean there's some :o but is not that surprising imo, i have nothing against it.

 

plus may be it got unfamous since last year's winner. :|

People are really pissed over here. Someone's taking them to court.

Why pissed?

who is taken to the court and why?

 

news here say, the winner doesn't know he won, and that his wife finds it hard to get to talk to him now. :\

also some countries now support the idea of free him from prision.

 

no doubt this prize has done something in politics.

Unlike the other Nobel Prizes, the Peace prize winner is selected by a Norwegias panel and awarded in Norway. The critique mainly is that it's just another attempt for Norway to get on the map (which was the main argument with Obama as well) and that it's more of a Norwegian government gives an award to whom they please award than a Nobel Prize.

 

The court thingy is about a misinterpretation on Nobel's will or something.

They're trying to please China?

Well, no, if they were trying to please China they would probably not award the prize to someone who opposes the government.

They're trying to please China?

 

Oh Ly.

 

Try reading the topic child.

Hmph. I'm not really clear with the issue tbh. :\

Remember when Barack got this? Funny day.

Hmph. I'm not really clear with the issue tbh. :\

 

China say he bad man he go jail.

Norway say he good man he go prize.

Therefore-Norway say China bad man.

 

First and foremost it's insulting to the nation that imprisoned a person to give them a peace award, it's basically saying "Your system is fucked for imprisoning someone who's making a major positive contribution to the world". On top of that, from what I understand briefly reading this, the guy was in some form of defiance or protest as to how China is run, by giving him an award for it is a major diss.

China say he bad man he go jail.

Norway say he good man he go prize.

Therefore-Norway say China bad man.

 

First and foremost it's insulting to the nation that imprisoned a person to give them a peace award, it's basically saying "Your system is fucked for imprisoning someone who's making a major positive contribution to the world". On top of that, from what I understand briefly reading this, the guy was in some form of defiance or protest as to how China is run, by giving him an award for it is a major diss.

 

Oh okay. Thanks for the explanation. :nice:

 

Does this guy really deserve the Nobel Prize? :thinking:

 

China scares me a little, as hypocritical as that sounds.

last news is the winner now knows he won, cause his wife finally was allowed to visit him in prision.

 

btw on the tv report his supporters think he'd be a good president for the country.

 

so really people want to take the givers to court due to the political controversy?

do it indeed have a rule that cases like that can't give them an award? if yes, why?

It has to do with the interpretation of Alfred Nobel, that's all I know.

so, news now say there's no clue where the nobel prize winner wife is now. :|

 

are anybody going to take the comitee to the court finally?

I heard it would take a couple of years. No surprise. China is probably going get this settled behind closed doors.

uff, that is bad.

 

i thought those stuff were political, so nobody would complain.

Probably won't happen. Will be interesting to see how this unravels, wonder what will happen to recipent :(

I can't see how you can take someone to court by guessing the wills of a dead man.

 

Also, I agree with this years prize, rather than last years prize. I don't care if they are trying to get on the map, they have given the award to somebody who deserves it and more countries (I know this wasn't decided by the country) should be less fearful of challenging evils in the world, instead of playing it safe.

 

Without this award people wouldn't have been aware of his plight and whilst it isn't too surprising it's good to have Chinese officials embarrassed.

What's up with China? :thinking:

A severe lack of human rights.

 

They imprisoned a man for daring to put forward (peacefully, not with force) proposals of a multi party democracy to allow the people to vote on who should be in charge. Added to this it would now appear that his wife has been put on house arrest.

To be fair if you were a ruthless dictator you'd do the same thing.

The country's population is huge, I suppose it's hard controlling that lot.

 

... Chinese people are creepy.