China Prevents Activist From Accepting Nobel Prize

December 10th, 2010

By cracking down harshly on government reformers, China is drawing international attention to the very activists it’s trying to silence.

Today’s Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony was missing one popular award-winner: Chinese political reformist Liu Xiaobo. He is being held in a Chinese prison for proposing changes to the communist government there.
China treats Liu as an enemy of the state, and accuses nations that support him of creating unnecessary conflict between China and the Western world. They have responded by ending trade talks with Norway, where the prize ceremony was held.
When prizes winners are unable to attend the ceremony, a family member is allowed to accept the prize on their behalf. But Liu’s wife, Liu Xia, has been under house arrest since October.

The last time a Nobel Peace Prize winner did not claim his award was when Hitler prevented Carl von Ozzietzky (a pacifist) from accepting the prize in 1936
Seventeen other nations joined China in boycotting the event – most of them non-democratic
Liu is currently serving his fourth term in prison – 11 years for the alleged crime of sedition (which is any act or speech that is intended to provoke rebellion in a country)

“[As a world power, China] should become used to being debated and criticized.” – Thorbjoern Jagland, Chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee