2010 Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Prize in Peace | |
---|---|
headshot of a bespectacled Chinese man wearing a blue-tinged leather jacket Liu Xiaobo | |
Description | Outstanding contributions in Peace |
Date | 10 December 2010 |
Location | Oslo |
Presented by | Norwegian Nobel Committee |
Reward(s) | 10 million SEK ($1.5M) |
First awarded | 1901 |
Last awarded | 2010 |
Currently held by | Liu Xiaobo |
The 2010 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to imprisoned Chinese human rights activist Liu Xiaobo "for his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China". The laureate, a little-known figure inside China due to official censorship,[1][2] is a veteran of the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, and co-author of the Charter 08 manifesto for which he was sentenced to 11 years in prison by Chinese authorities on 25 December 2009. Liu was chosen to receive the award over a record number of more than 200 nominees.
The decision was widely praised by intellectuals and politicians, but was bitterly attacked by the Chinese Government. Following the announcement, heavy official censorship was applied within China, on the Internet, on television, and in the print media. The Chinese government denounced the award as "blasphemy", and summoned the Norwegian ambassador in Beijing "to officially share their opinion, their disagreement and their protest." The Chinese authorities arrested citizens who attempted to celebrate.[3] Liu's wife was put under house-arrest before the Nobel Committee's decision was announced. The government engaged in a massive diplomatic effort to pressure other countries not attend the award ceremony on 10 December;[4] strong rhetoric and denunciations of the West continued from official sources until after the ceremony.
Liu is the first person of Chinese nationality (aside from the 14th Dalai Lama, a Tibetan refugee) to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize,[5][6][7] and the first to be awarded a Nobel Prize of any kind while residing in China (several Chinese scientists have previously received Nobel Prizes for work done outside the country, and Chinese-born French national Gao Xingjian was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2000).[8] Liu is the third person to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize while in prison or detention, after Germany's Carl von Ossietzky (1935) and Burma's Aung San Suu Kyi (1991).[9][10]
Nomination and announcement
On 7 October 2010, Norwegian television networks reported that Liu Xiaobo was the front-running candidate for the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize.[11] The Nobel Committee disclosed there were a record number of nominations in 2010 – a total of 237, of which 38 were organisations.[12] The monetary component of the prize is 10 million Swedish kronor ($1.5 million).[13]
Liu was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by International PEN, the worldwide association of writers.[14][15] On 18 January 2010, Václav Havel and others – including the 14th Dalai Lama, André Glucksmann, Vartan Gregorian, Mike Moore, Karel Schwarzenberg, Desmond Tutu and Grigory Yavlinsky – wrote to lobby on his behalf.[15][16] However, 14 exiled dissidents had written to lobby the Nobel Committee against Liu's nomination, arguing that Liu had abandoned the Falun Gong spiritual movement and had become 'soft' on the Chinese leadership.[17] The Chinese foreign ministry warned the Nobel Committee that giving Liu the prize would be against Nobel principles, and would damage ties between the two countries.
Agence France-Presse reported that at a June meeting convened by the Chinese embassy in Oslo, Vice Foreign Minister Fu Ying warned the Nobel Institute director and secretary of the Nobel Committee, Geir Lundestad, that giving the prize to Liu Xiaobo would be seen as an "unfriendly gesture"[18] which would have negative consequences for relations between Oslo and Beijing.[9]
Irish bookmaker Paddy Power paid out two days before the announcement after experiencing a noticeable increase in bets.[15] Shortly before the announcement, Liu's wife, Liu Xia, declined telephone interviews, saying the police were at her home. Her telephone went unanswered once the announcement was made.[7] Nobel Committee chairman Thorbjørn Jagland made the announcement early on 8 October 2010 in Oslo.[19] He said the choice of Liu had become clear early in the process.[20]
The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2010 to Liu Xiaobo for his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China. The Norwegian Nobel Committee has long believed that there is a close connection between human rights and peace. Such rights are a prerequisite for the 'fraternity between nations' of which Alfred Nobel wrote in his will.... The campaign to establish universal human rights also in China is being waged by many Chinese, both in China itself and abroad. Through the severe punishment meted out to him, Liu has become the foremost symbol of this wide-ranging struggle for human rights in China.
— Norwegian Nobel Committee, 8 October 2010[21]
Because Liu had been in jail since 25 December 2009, it was not immediately clear whether he was aware of the award. When the announcement was made, several policemen were in Liu's Beijing apartment, preventing his wife from going out to meet friends and talking to journalists. Liu Xia said she was told she would be taken to meet her husband in the jail in Liaoning province where he was incarcerated. A crowd of about 100 journalists, supporters, and friends who had gathered outside the main entrance at 2 pm were blocked from entering the Lius' residential compound.[22] Meetings and gatherings to celebrate were prevented or abruptly broken up by Beijing police.[23]
Reactions inside China
Chinese media
In contrast with the earlier announcements of Nobel Prize winners, which were given top coverage, China Central Television's prime-time evening news broadcast failed to mention Liu's Peace Prize. The official Xinhua News Agency downplayed all but the literature prize, and most other mainland news portals followed the Xinhua lead; popular Internet portals such as Sina.com and NetEase deleted pages dedicated to stories related to all five Nobel Prizes.[1][24] According to a well-informed Twitter user cited by the China Media Project at the University of Hong Kong, the Information Office of the State Council issued a directive immediately after the announcement that microblog services across the country were to set "Liu Xiaobo" and "Peace Prize" as prohibited keywords; forums, blogs and other interactive media were forbidden from releasing any information.[1][25] At 6 pm, the source said that although the official news release had been issued, all of the media were ordered not to publish it by the Central Propaganda Department.[1][25] Major domestic news sites in China relegated coverage to inconspicuous inside pages. China Central Television's main newscast, Xinwen Lianbo, did not report on it.[1] The next day, only a small number of journals – Guangming Daily, Economic Daily, Beijing Daily, Beijing News, and Shanghai’s Wen Hui Bao – published the Xinhua-sanctioned report.[1] Chinese journalists and dissidents said that the under-reporting was carried out on the orders of Central Propaganda Department, which had instructed media not to re-run even the government's own condemnatory official news release, and censor or otherwise contain reporting on Liu Xiaobo or the peace prize.[26]
In its editorial, the Communist Party–run Global Times attacked the Nobel Peace Prize as a "political tool of Western interests" which was being used to foment "endless political strife in Chinese society, causing a Soviet-style breakup."[27] The Chinese government ordered the deletion of all print and broadcast stories on the topic.[28] The Global Times said the act was "nothing more than another expression of this prejudice, and behind it lies an extraordinary terror of China's rise and the Chinese model".[29] In an article entitled "The endless ideological wars against China," it said the award was "part of a concerto supplemented by various NGOs, economic entities and international organisations orchestrated by the developed countries. They hope to harass China's growth and press China to surrender more economic interests. They even hope that China will one day collapse under the West's ideological crusade."[30]
Foreign broadcast coverage, such as from the BBC and CNN, was blacked out whenever Liu was mentioned.[6][31][32] In Guangdong, signal carriers for Hong Kong TVB were blocked for approximately eight minutes during the 6 pm evening news broadcast, removing any mention of the Nobel Peace Prize.[24]
After a week of denunciations in China's English-language media, with most journals silent about the award except for perfunctory quotes from the foreign ministry, the country's Chinese-language media launched a concerted assault on Liu and the award, accompanied by renewed attacks in the English-language media. Xinhua argued on 17 October that the Communist Party had made "unremitting efforts to promote and safeguard human rights", and questioned in what ways Liu's actions had contributed to human rights progress for China's people.[33] The agency cited a journal from Saudi Arabia and one from Russia that had denounced the award, and quoted the Pakistani Foreign Office as saying, "the politicization of the Nobel Peace Prize for the purposes of interference in the domestic affairs of states is not only contrary to the recognized principles of inter-State conduct but also a negation of the underlying spirit conceived by the founder of the Prize."[34] In what was described by Chinese media–watchers as a surprise, China Youth Daily published a compilation of Beijing students' expressions of anger and disbelief over the decision to award the Nobel Peace Prize to Liu Xiaobo. The interviews chime in, criticising "people with ulterior motives" (别有用心的人) – historically a hard-liner's phrase – and characterising the Nobel decision to use the award as a tool in their "relentless effort to undermine China and frustrate its development".[35]
On 18 October, the Global Times published the results of a telephone poll of 866 Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou residents, which the journal said were chosen at random, in which 58.6 percent of respondents said the Committee should take back the prize and apologise to the Chinese people, and more than half said Liu should be detained until his parole date. At the same time, the journal said there was a low recognition of Liu among the public in China, as more than 75 percent of respondents had no idea who the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize was.[36] Beijing Daily published an editorial on the day of the award ceremony suggesting the reason WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, was not awarded the Peace Prize was a "... question of who can and who cannot ... become a tool for Western forces in attacking countries with different ideologies [e]ven if this tool is serving out a prison sentence for violating the law."[37] Ironically, WikiLeaks is blocked by China's "Great Firewall" with media reports about leaked information specifically related to China being censored,[38] although the leak incident itself was reported within China.[39]
Central government
Following the announcement on 8 October 2010, Xinhua relayed the Russian news agency denunciation of the prize.[27] China summoned the Norwegian ambassador in Beijing to make a formal protest.[40] The Foreign Ministry spokesman condemned politicians from some countries for using the award as an opportunity to attack China: "This is not only disrespect for China's judicial system but also puts a big question mark on their true intention."[41] The foreign ministry statement, labelling the decision "a blasphemy", was carried on Chinese state television.[32]
The Nobel Peace Prize should be awarded to people who contribute to national harmony, country-to-country friendship, advancing disarmament, and convening and propagandizing peace conferences. Liu was a criminal sentenced by the Chinese judicial authorities for violating Chinese law ... The Nobel committee's decision to award such a person the peace prize runs contrary to and desecrates the prize.
China protested to Norway, saying that China–Norway relations had been damaged.[6][31][32][43] A planned meeting in Beijing between Norwegian Fisheries Minister Lisbeth Berg-Hansen and Chinese food control authorities was cancelled at the last minute, ostensibly because their counterparts had "other engagements"; a meeting scheduled for the same day between Berg-Hansen and China's vice-minister for fisheries had previously been cancelled in reaction to the award, according to Norwegian officials. Elsewhere, performances of a Norwegian musical scheduled for the following month starring Alexander Rybak, winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2009, were cancelled as a political sanction, according to the musical's composer.[44] In early December, Norway said China indefinitely postponed bilateral talks for a landmark trade deal. Haakon Hjelde, Norway's negotiator said Beijing did not openly link the postponement to the awarding of the Prize, but Henning Kristofferson director of international relations of the BI Norwegian School of Management observed that the Chinese "were very clear that the prize was a big mistake and that it would damage relations."[45]
Law enforcement
Since the announcement, Liu Xia has been under house-arrest except for a trip to visit her husband in prison. She reported that she has been denied visitors, her telephones had been repeatedly cut off, and that even her elderly mother had not been able to get through to her. Visitors, including Norwegian diplomats who attempted to see her on 12 October, were turned back at the entrance to her residential compound. Her only contact with the outside world was Twitter.[46] Chinese police cordoned off Liu's house and prevented his wife from giving interviews.[6][47] They kept journalists and well-wishers at bay for several hours until she was whisked away to visit her husband. "They are forcing me to leave Beijing", Reuters quoted her as saying.[2][6]
Dissident groups reported on 18 October that numerous supporters or associates of Liu may had been detained by police – that Tiananmen Mother Ding Zilin and her husband Jiang Peikun had not been seen or heard from for four days; and that their phones had been cut off. Writer Jiang Qisheng went missing just days after the Nobel announcement.[48]
In the days immediately preceding the award ceremony, the media reported that Liu's home was under tight security, with police cars positioned on every corner. Uniformed and plain-clothes police officers patrolled outside the apartment block, and a radio surveillance vehicle was stationed at the entrance to the compound. Temporary blue hoardings were erected on both sides of the road at the southern entrance of the residential complex, with signs saying, "The road is under construction, please understand", blocking views of the estate. Neighbouring businesses were closed; a restaurant owner was quoted as saying government officials had told him to close the business temporarily.[49]
As exiled prominent activists and former activists were reportedly preparing to attend the award ceremony, some prominent individuals and activists inside China experienced travel problems. Economist Mao Yushi, who signed Charter 08, Ai Weiwei and rights lawyer Liu Xiaoyuan were all prevented by police at Beijing's airport from outbound travel, ostensibly because their departure from China could "endanger state security".[50] Liu's lawyer, Mo Shaoping, and Peking University law professor He Weifang were prevented from boarding a flight bound for London in November. There were media reports that even the spouses and children of some outspoken intellectuals had been stopped from leaving the country.[50] Ai, who had been stopped from boarding a flight for Korea, said "I think there's a direct connection with next week's Nobel Peace Prize award ... The Chinese government is very upset about this." Chinese Human Rights Defenders also believed that "officials are increasing their efforts to bar prominent members of Chinese civil society from travelling internationally as the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony approaches."[45] The BBC cited the UN as saying it had information that China had detained at least 20 activists ahead of the ceremony, and reported sources saying there were a further 120 cases of house arrest, travel restriction, forced relocation, and other acts of intimidation of dissidents ahead of the ceremony;[51] external Chinese sources put the figure of people so restricted at approximately 270.[52][53]
Liu Xia and Liu Xiaobo
Liu Xia expressed her gratitude to the Nobel Committee, Liu's proposers, and those who have been supporting him since 1989, including the mothers of those who were killed or had disappeared in the military crackdown. She said, "The prize should belong to all who signed Charter 08 and were jailed due to their support".[54]
The award is first and foremost for the Tiananmen martyrs.
— Liu Xiaobo, 9 October 2010[55]
Liu Xia informed the laureate of his award during a visit to Jinzhou Prison on 9 October 2010, one day after the official announcement.[28] She reported that Liu wept and dedicated the award to those who suffered as a result of the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.[56] After Ms. Liu returned home, she was put under house arrest and was watched by armed guards.[55][56] She expressed the desire to attend the prize-giving in Norway in December, but was sceptical of her chances of being allowed to do so.[57] Liu Xia wrote an open letter to 143 prominent figures, encouraging them to attend the award ceremony in Oslo.[58]
Intellectuals
We're calling upon Chinese authorities to respond to the peace prize with rationality and realism, and to take stock of warm responses from home and abroad to gain clear understanding of the world's opinion and where people have placed their hearts
— open letter urging Beijing government to release Liu Xiaobo[59]
John Pomfret of The Washington Post said a wide spectrum of Chinese and foreigners believed that Liu's award "could actually resonate more deeply within China than any similar act in years".[5] In an open letter signed by about 200 mainland intellectuals and activists and posted in Chinese, English, French and Japanese on websites hosted outside China, Liu was described as "a splendid choice", because the prize recognised his beliefs in advancing human rights causes and the peaceful fight against social injustice.[59] Artist and critic Ai Weiwei said the regime should be most ashamed, but also that many intellectuals who had drifted away from their public responsibilities ought to feel shame for betraying the values for which they once strove. Ai said that the Prize was a message from the international community, urging the Chinese government to respect mankind's universal values, notwithstanding China's economic performance.[60] Writer Liao Yiwu, a close friend of Liu, described it as "a big moment in Chinese history".[31] Another writer, Yu Jie, said he spent the night awake with tears streaming down his face – "Twenty years ago Liu Xiaobo said that China needed someone with moral clarity about what China needs. Now he has become just that person, that he himself was looking for", he said.[61] Former Chinese diplomat Yang Hengjun described it as a strong signal to the Chinese government to speed up political reform "or you will have a lot of enemies around you and within you."[7]
Exiled 1989 student leader Wang Dan said he was "ecstatic".[2] Human rights lawyer Li Heping called the award "huge encouragement for the Chinese people ... an affirmation that there are people around the world who really care about human rights and the legal system in China, that the world hasn’t forgotten us." He added that others, such as Gao Zhisheng, Chen Guangcheng, and Hu Jia, also deserved the prize.[28] The Globe and Mail said that while many activists agreed he was worthy of the award, some radical reformers within Chinese democracy movement,[6] such as Wei Jingsheng,[62] see the moderate Liu as the "wrong choice" due to his advocacy of a gradual path to constitutional democracy in China.[6][17]
Renmin University professor Zhang Ming doubted the award would have much direct impact. However, economist Mao Yushi said that giving the prize to Liu would have an impact not only on China's current leaders but their successors as well. He said the Peace Prize represented the impetus from the international community, and was but one of several forces working towards China's political reform. Mao believed that the Chinese leadership was already debating how and what form political reform would take.[60]
Internet
Despite not being a household name in China through the efforts of the authorities, there were mixed views about Liu for those who had heard about him. Some clearly supported the government position, whilst one university student was quoted as saying "George Orwell probably had no idea that what he wrote would end up being the reality of China now."[63] "Liu Xiaobo" and "Nobel Peace Prize" became the most searched terms among internet users in China.[6] However, some time after the release of the official response from the Chinese Foreign Ministry, government censors screened the news item, and there were reports of searches in China using Chinese search engines returning error pages.[32] Web searches using Chinese search engines for "Liu Xiaobo" in Chinese without attaching the words "Peace Prize," gave information about Liu. Yet most sites found "Liu" plus "Peace Prize" yield only the official foreign ministry response.[64] There were reports that any mentions of "Nobel Prize" on microblogging sites were removed by authorities.[32] One netizen claimed that his SIM card had been deactivated after texting a relative about the Nobel Peace Prize.[32] Accustomed to circumventing Chinese Internet censorship, bloggers and forum-users used variants of Liu's name[65] and posted subtle or cryptic messages to express their elation about the award or sarcasm towards the state.[2] The statement on 8 October by Han Han, the world's most widely read blogger, consisted of only a pair of double quote marks.[26]
Less than three weeks after the announcement of Liu as the 2010 recipient, the Nobel Peace Prize website came under a cyber attack.[58][66] There was an attempt to hack into the computer of the secretary of the Nobel Committee, Geir Lundestad by a forged email on 3 November.[67] A number of individuals received an email containing malware purportedly disguised as a pdf-file invitation to the award ceremony from the Oslo Freedom Forum. The email was also traced to the same server as the previous attacks, reportedly in Taiwan, although experts say the address had been spoofed; the attack has not been linked to any party in mainland China.[68]
Activists posted photographs of a symbolic empty chair on Internet fora and noticeboards, and the authorities responded by removing the images and making "empty chair" a banned search term.[63]
Hong Kong
Many political groups – including the Democratic Party and the Hong Kong Journalists Association – welcomed the decision and congratulated Liu.[69] The Journalists Association expressed its gratitude and encouragement for Liu's award, and expressed hoped for the early unconditional release of the political prisoner.[70] Hong Kong's Chief Executive, Donald Tsang, and government ministers Leung Chun-ying, and Gregory So, all declined to comment to the press.[71]
The South China Morning Post in Hong Kong said Liu's courage to stand up for the rights of all people – for the fourth time since the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests – made him worthy of joining the company of other similarly persecuted peace prize winners such as Nelson Mandela: "Liu is just one of a long line of like-minded Chinese citizens to be silenced. The award will be seen in many quarters as acknowledging their sacrifice for the values it upholds."[72] Hong Kong-based Phoenix Television, which transmits throughout China by satellite, limited its report to the foreign ministry's statement denouncing the honour.[2]
![row of portraits, and lights spelling out the words 'FREE LIU'](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/41/Chatergardenlight_2010_nobelprize.jpg/240px-Chatergardenlight_2010_nobelprize.jpg)
About 20 activists held a celebration in front of the central government liaison office. Their celebration was broken up and the activists were arrested for assault after a guard was accidentally sprayed with champagne. Human Rights Monitor, and a Democratic Party legislator, denounced the heavy-handed actions of the police.[12][73] The loyalist President of LegCo turned down an adjournment motion on 15 October submitted by Leung Kwok-hung that called for the release of Liu on grounds that such debate "lacked urgency and would not produce irreversible consequences."[74] On 17 October, 30 supporters of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China – organisers of the annual commemoration of the 1989 Tiananmen protests – held a march to the central government liaison office, calling on the central government to release Liu and allow him to attend the prize-giving in December.[75] A candlelight ceremony was held in the city's central business district to coincide with the award ceremony.
An editorial in the South China Morning Post said: "this heavy-handed reaction is counterproductive to its image and the respect it wants as a peaceful superpower. Liu's award did pose a dilemma, but having made its point at the outset Beijing had little further to gain. Attempts to meddle in the process did nothing to dignify its stand.[76]
Taiwan
One day after the award announcement, the Presidential Office said Chinese dissidents should be treated with more tolerance, and president Ma Ying-jeou publicly urged Beijing to release Liu and to "solve major human rights incidents with honesty and confidence."[77][78] Forty-eight non-governmental organisations issued a two-page statement expressing optimism for political change in China, praised Liu's non-violent struggle for human rights and democracy in China, and called on the Chinese government for his release.[77]
The Taipei Times said the award was an indication of strong support for China’s democracy movement, and that change was unavoidable. "The CCP needs to decide whether to attempt to obstruct democracy or facilitate its development. If it chooses the former then history will pass it by, just as it did the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. If, however, the CCP decides to embrace change then it could ... remain a political force" like the Kuomintang in Taiwan.[79]
International reaction
Norway
In advance of an official Chinese response to the Nobel Committee's decision, Norwegian foreign minister Jonas Gahr Støre said that a Chinese complaint to the Norwegian government would be in vain, since the committee is independent of the Norwegian government, even though it is appointed by the Parliament of Norway.[9] This official position was reiterated to the People's Republic of China by their Norwegian ambassador.[80] After the announcement, Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said the decision "directs a spotlight on the human rights situation in China, and underscores the links between development, democracy and universal human rights."[28] Norway summoned the Chinese ambassador to Norway to express its regret at China's reaction, to urge for the release of Liu, and to remove restrictions on his wife.[33] Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten revealed that foreign minister Støre had a pre-emptive meeting with Nobel Committee chairman Thorbjørn Jagland, about Liu as the expected recipient two weeks before the announcement. According to anonymous sources within both the Foreign Ministry and the Nobel Committee itself, Støre is said to have raised certain "concerns". The Norwegian press quoted Jagland as saying that this enquiry was of such a peculiar kind that he would have to present the Nobel Committee with the minutes of the meeting.[81] Former Nobel Committee chairman Ole Danbolt Mjøs and a number of Norwegian researchers and politicians criticised Støre for breaching protocol and meddling in the work of the Committee.[82]
Norwegian peace activist and author Fredrik S. Heffermehl criticized the Nobel Committee for failing to follow Alfred Nobel's dying wish to promote disarmament, by giving the award to Liu.[83][84] Heffermehl said that less than 50 percent of the awards made after World War II had been made in accordance with Nobel's will.[85]
Governments and politicians
While the Cuban and Venezuelan governments were notably critical, leading politicians in the Western world welcomed the news and called for the release of Liu. Non-aligned and developing countries such as India, Brazil and Russia were conspicuously silent.[86] UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon recognised China's "remarkable economic advances [that have] lifted millions out of poverty", and said he hoped "any differences on this decision will not detract from advancement of the human rights agenda globally or the high prestige and inspirational power of the award".[87] President Obama lauded Liu's eloquence and courage, while his government called for his immediate release.[88][89]
The European Union and member governments praised the decision,[90] calling on China to release Liu.[19] European Commission President José Manuel Barroso stated that "the decision of the Nobel Peace Prize Committee is a strong message of support to all those around the world who, sometimes with great personal sacrifice, are struggling for freedom and human rights."[91] The Polish foreign ministry said it was appreciative of the decision to award Liu.[92] Japan greeted the award, emphasised the need for respect of human rights, but did not call for Liu's release; Premier Naoto Kan told a parliamentary committee Liu's release was "desirable".[93] The Australian prime minister, Julia Gillard, said Australia was strongly against Liu's imprisonment, and "we welcome the fact that his work has been recognised internationally now with the Nobel Peace Prize",[94] while the Greens leader Bob Brown described the decision as "inspiring". However, Brown contrasted Norway's courage with the "sheer ignorance and gutlessness of most of Australia's politicians on the plight of campaigning democrats in China".[95] The Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper expressed his delight, and said he hoped the award "would cause our friends in the Chinese government to look seriously at that issue of his release from prison."[6] However, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez took sides with China, saying the award should be given to those who "have done the most for fraternity between nations, the abolition or reduction of standing armies and promotion of peace congresses".[96] Pakistan[97] and Cuba denounced the choice, saying Liu was exactly "the type of 'dissident' that the United States has been designing for decades to use ... as fifth columns in those countries that they disagree with because those countries dissent from [American] hegemony."[98] The United Arab Emirates expressed regret at the "politically motivated" decision to award Liu which it said was "against the UAE's fundamental belief in respecting other nations' sovereignty and non-interference."[99]
On 8 December, the United States House of Representatives voted by 402 to 1 to congratulate Liu and honour his "promotion of democratic reform in China, and the courage with which he has borne repeated imprisonment ... and [call] on the government of China to cease censoring media and internet reporting of the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to Liu Xiaobo and to cease its campaign of defamation against Liu Xiaobo."[100] The Chinese Foreign Ministry responded by accusing US lawmakers of possessing an "arrogant and unreasonable attitude" and lacking respect for China's judicial sovereignty."[101] Ahead of the award ceremony, Barack Obama said "Mr Liu Xiaobo is far more deserving of this award than I was ... [He] reminds us that human dignity also depends upon the advance of democracy, open society, and the rule of law... The values he espouses are universal, his struggle is peaceful, and he should be released as soon as possible."[102]
Human rights groups and academics
The Dalai Lama expressed confidence that China would one day enjoy responsible governance through the efforts of Liu and others calling for democracy and freedom. He praised the award as "the international community's recognition of the increasing voices among the Chinese people in pushing China towards political, legal and constitutional reforms."[103] Former Polish president Lech Wałęsa said he was "very satisfied", describing the award as "a challenge for China and the entire world, [which] must declare whether it is ready to help China enter a zone where there is respect for the principles and values".[92]
However, Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov, winners of the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics, attacked the Nobel committee as "retired Norwegian politicians who have spent all their careers in a safe environment, in an oil-rich modern country. They try to extend their views of the world, how the world should work and how democracy works in another country." They also felt that China should be given due credit for undisputed improvements human rights and the economy over the last 10 years. Novoselov questioned: "What is a dictatorship? It is not as if people are being constantly killed there,"[104] The pair were rebutted by 2010 Nobel literature laureate Mario Vargas Llosa, who said it was a timely reminder that China was still a dictatorship and quite monolithic regarding politics, and that the award was "a tribute to all Chinese dissidents and all Chinese who want not just economic but also political growth and progress in China."[105]
Human Rights Watch said the 2010 award honours "all those in China who struggle daily to make the government more accountable"[106] and "shatter[s] the myth where the Communist Party presents itself as the voice of the Chinese people".[107] Canadian academic Professor Josephine Chiu-Duke said she suspected many inside the Communist Party of China would be elated: "They are just like us, hoping that China can be free, democratic and civilized", and that the award will "encourag[e] more Chinese to speak up."[28] Former British diplomat in Beijing, Kerry Brown, lamented that, economically powerful though China is, its sole Nobel prize winner languished in prison.[28]
The Secretary General of Amnesty International, said of Liu's empty chair: "The Chinese government might see this is as a victory, but they would be mistaken... Because, while the other chairs in the packed hall on the day of the awards ceremony will each hold only one person, Liu's empty chair will hold... the thousands of political prisoners and prisoners of conscience languishing in Chinese jails or under house arrest, victims of prosecution and persecution simply for having the courage to voice their views."[108] On the other hand, David Gosset of the China Europe International Business School said the award was "a sad paradox, a prize without any real winner, which generates mistrust and perplexity when understanding and clarity are most needed". Gosset believed that only citizens were able to define the exact terms and pace of democratisation in their own country, and lamented how counter-productive the implicit association of post-Maoist China with German Nazism or South African apartheid was, and cast doubt on how such a large developing country with its per capita GDP of $3,700 could adopt the socio-political standards of the Western world en bloc without attenuating its development. He also argued that the choice of Liu was divisive in view of China's memory of Western imperialism, and of Alfred Nobel's will to have "done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations".[109] Professor Sidney Rittenberg said: "One does not have to approve of Mr Liu's imprisonment in order to disapprove of his choice as a Nobel laureate... Not only have courageous, intelligent individuals like Mr Liu made no tangible contribution to China's advance, not only have their activities and his choice for a Nobel Prize made life more difficult for China's dissidents – but the main point is that his advocacy of a multiparty system for the China of today would almost certainly lead to disaster, if carried out. To wit, Iran after the overthrow of the shah."[108]
Media
State-owned Russian news agency RIA Novosti immediately criticised the prize as a "political tool" – a denunciation swiftly picked up by Xinhua and relayed.[27] Radio Free Europe reported Solidarnost (in Russia) planned to hold a public rally in support of Liu in Saint Petersburg, but the authorities refused permission. In the end, 10 activists staged a protest outside the Chinese consulate there.[110]
In an editorial, The Guardian said "to many western ears, the clamour of China's markets is louder than the pleas of its dissidents. The Nobel committee is one of few institutions with sufficient status to be heard around the world. Its most coveted prize can now amplify Mr Liu's voice."[111] The Telegraph said that the award was justified not only by Mr Liu’s own courage, but is "a rebuke to Western governments, so hypnotised by China’s riches and cowed by self-interest that they have shut their eyes and ears to the regime’s abuses of human rights."[112]
The New York Times applauded the award: "Beijing is used to throwing its weight around these days – on currency, trade, the South China Sea and many other issues. Too many governments, and companies, are afraid to push back. Maybe someone in China’s leadership will now figure out that bullying is not a strategy for an aspiring world power."[113]
The French daily, Libération, referred to Liu as "the Chinese Havel", saying "the Chinese government wanted to show the world that nothing would stop it from silencing its critics. However, China is today a part of the international community, and must respect the norms it accepted when it signed up for UN membership. The pressure it exerted upon the Nobel prize committee not to award Liu is unacceptable."[114]
News agencies reported the establishment of the "Confucius Peace Prize", set up at the suggestion of Global Times in response to the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to a jailed dissident.[115][116] The organiser denied any involvement of the Chinese government in the award[116] and the Minister of Culture said they were unaware of the prize until the coverage by newspapers.[116][115] Hong Kong's Ming Pao reported that the letter issued by Committee to the recipient did not have the Ministry of Culture's official seal.[115] The Economist suggest that Chinese leadership would probably have expected comparisons to when the Soviet Union prevented Andrei Sakharov from accepting his Nobel Peace Prize in 1975;[117] Die Welt said the rival award was "stupid".[118] both it and The Economist made direct reference to the creation of a similar German National Prize for Art and Science by Nazi Germany after von Ossietzky was prohibited from leaving the country to collect the 1935 prize;"The empty chair". The Economist. 12 December 2010. Retrieved 12 December 2010.</ref>
Diplomatic pressure
In the lead-up to the award ceremony, the Chinese authorities began a campaign through state media to criticise both Liu and the prize; the Chinese foreign service both in Beijing and abroad targeted Western government officials, urging them to stay away from the award ceremony in Oslo on 10 December and refrain from issuing any statements of support for Liu. At least two European embassies in Norway were sent letters by their Chinese counterparts, denouncing the prize for being an interference in China's internal affairs and reaffirming their stance that Liu had committed crimes in China. One diplomat said his embassy's letter from the Chinese embassy requested obliquely that they "refrain from attending any activity directed against China." The Norwegian Nobel Committee said its invitation to the Chinese ambassador to attend the prize-giving was returned unanswered.[119]
In December, the Chinese foreign ministry continued to denounce the award as "interference by a few clowns". It said "more than 100 countries and international organisations [had] expressed explicit support of China’s position opposing this year's peace prize."[120] However, according to the Nobel Committee, only the 65 countries with diplomatic missions were invited; acceptances had been received from 46 countries,[121][122] including the previously non-committal India,[123] while China and 19 others – Afghanistan, Algeria, Argentina, Cuba, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Morocco, Nepal,[124] Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tunisia, Venezuela and Vietnam – declined invitations to the award ceremony "for various reasons".[122][125][126] On the eve of the award ceremony, China continued the rhetoric against the Nobel Committee and the West. A spokesman said: "We hope that those countries who have received invitations can tell right from wrong and uphold justice. It's not an issue of human rights. It's an issue of interfering in other countries' internal affairs";[127] the Nobel committee continued to be criticised for "encouraging crime"; the Global Times repeated earlier suggestions that the award was a Western conspiracy against Beijing, a "charge against China's ideology, aiming to undermine the benign surroundings for China's future development."[128] The Times called those countries boycotting the ceremony "The pet Pekinese".[129]
Colombia, Serbia,the Philippines and Ukraine initially announced they would not attend the ceremony, but later accepted the invitation.[130][131][126] The Philippines ultimately did not attend: President Benigno Aquino III defended the Philippine non-attendance as "in our national interest"; the Philippine government, which had been heavily criticised in its national press for its decision, revealed its hope that China would show clemency to five Filipinos on death row for drug trafficking.[132]
Award ceremony
The award ceremony, held as planned in Oslo City Hall on the afternoon of 10 December, was attended by about 1,000 VIPs, diplomats and guests. Representing Norway were King Harald V, Queen Sonja and a number of politicians and officials; 48 foreign dignitaries, US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and 46 guests of Chinese origin were also in attendance. The Chinese group included astrophysicist Professor Fang Lizhi, Yang Jianli, and former Tiananmen student leaders Chai Ling, Wu'erkaixi, Feng Congde, and Fang Zheng, a former student whose legs were crushed by a tank as he fled Tiananmen Square in 1989; the Hong Kong delegation comprised Albert Ho, Emily Lau, and Lee Cheuk-yan.[133] Outside the hall, pro-democracy and human rights activists demonstrated,[134] and about 50 China supporters held a protest outside the Norwegian Parliament.[133]
I, filled with optimism, look forward to the advent of a future, free China. For there is no force that can put an end to the human quest for freedom, and China will in the end become a nation ruled by law, where human rights reign supreme.
The hall was decked with an immense portrait of Liu for the event. During the ceremony, the Nobel committee chairman Thorbjørn Jagland pointed to China's economic transformation that has lifted millions of people out of poverty, calling it an "extraordinary achievement", but said the Chinese leadership "must regard criticism as positive" considering the nation's new status as a world power.[51][134] Liu is the third person to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize while in prison or detention, after Carl von Ossietzky (1935) and Aung San Suu Kyi (1991), and the only one other than Ossietzky not to be present or represented by close family at the awards ceremony.[10][51][134] The Nobel diploma and the prize was symbolically placed by Jagland on an empty chair meant for the absent laureate. Norwegian actress Liv Ullmann read I Have No Enemies, an essay by Liu written for his trial in December 2009.[51][134]
The proceedings were televised by the international media, but broadcast signals on CNN and BBC inside China were reportedly blocked.[9][51][135] Images of and references to 'Empty chair' also became the target of official censorship.[136] After the ceremony, Xinhua, the official Chinese news agency continued the rhetoric against the award:
There are always some who cling to the Cold-War or even colonial mentality, even in this 21st century. They regard themselves as the judge, the teacher, even though they have never been selected by the people of developing countries. They have never experienced the real life in developing countries, but they tend to act like the Savior wherever they go. They assume that they can forever distort the fact and block the truth by using political maneuvers.
— Xia Dongmei, Xinhua, 11 December 2010[137]
Following the ceremony, there was an evening rally of more than 1,000 people in subzero Oslo to call for Liu's release. The marchers headed for the Grand Hotel, where laureates traditionally greet the crowd from the balcony. Assembled Chinese activists and dissidents said they were inspired by the award, that it was a much-needed morale-booster, and expressed hope that it would be a catalyst to resurrect the moribund Chinese pro-democracy movement. Yang Jianli said: "The most important change is the change in people's hearts ... this is the greatest achievement [of this award],"[138] The Global Times said of the ceremony: "It’s unimaginable that such a farce, the like of which is more commonly seen in cults, is being staged on the civilised continent of Europe".[139]
Nobel Peace Prize Concert
The concert was hosted by Denzel Washington and Anne Hathaway. The performers included Barry Manilow, Herbie Hancock, Jamiroquai, Robyn, Florence and the Machine, Colbie Caillat, India.Arie, A. R. Rahman and Sivert Høyem.[140]
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External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/38px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png)
- Official Nobel Page
- "Who is Liu Xiaobo?". Xinhua News Agency. 28 October 2010.
- "Profile: Liu Xiaobo". Al Jazeera. Reuters. 8 October 2010.
- Eimer, David (8 October 2010). "Liu Xiaobo wins Nobel Peace Prize: a profile". The Daily Telegraph.
- Coonan, Clifford (9 October 2010). "A champion of basic rights who refuses to be silenced". The Irish Times.
- Ramzy, Austin (8 October 2010). "Chinese Dissident Liu Xiaobo Wins Nobel Peace Prize". Time.
- China Faces International Criticism at Nobel Ceremony – video report by Democracy Now!
- Music Video: 劉曉波, 諾貝爾和平獎 (Liu Xiaobo, Nobel Peace Prize ) 2010.12.10