By Thor Halvorssen
OSLO, Norway -- Liu Xiaobo could not be more deserving of the Nobel Peace Prize. An eloquent writer and passionate human rights defender, he was chosen by the Nobel Committee for "his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China." His embattled commitment to freedom embodies the ongoing movement against Chinese tyranny.
Imprisoned since December of 2008, Liu's crime was to organize the Charter 08 document -- a manifesto signed by hundreds of Chinese intellectuals and activists that petitioned Beijing for greater freedom and human rights. Published on December 10, 2008, the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Charter 08 was inspired by the Charter 77 movement that Václav Havel led during then-Czechoslovakia's struggle with dictatorship.
Through Charter 08 Liu demanded freedom of expression, free and fair elections, freedom of association, an independent judiciary, freedom of religion, and other fundamental human rights for the Chinese people. His advocacy makes him a perfect Laureate -- to paraphrase Nobel Committee chairman Thorbjørn Jagland, there is an inexorable connection between human rights and peace.
In a public statement issued at his sentencing, Liu said he has "long been aware that when an independent intellectual stands up to an autocratic state, step one toward freedom is often a step into prison... now I am taking that step; and true freedom is that much nearer."
Liu's heroism is all the more extraordinary as he knew what the Communist Party's reaction would be from personal experience. He had been imprisoned for two years after protesting at Tiananmen Square, and later sent to a "reeducation" camp in 1996, after publicly questioning Chinese government policy. Between his time in the work camps and the publication of Charter 08, Liu was exposed to untold amounts of harassment and surveillance.
The Nobel Committee chose wisely and should be congratulated for bringing needed attention to the cruelty of a regime that has violated human rights and shattered peace for more than 60 years. The Chinese leadership is in the midst of a sustained and multifaceted war on human rights, best illustrated by its imperial attempts to subjugate Tibetans and Uyghurs, its Orwellian surveillance and censorship machinery, its political reeducation programs, its total lack of democracy, the routine use of torture and execution in the Chinese legal system, and the eight million languishing in the Laogai -- China's vast prison camp network.
In the past few years as the Nobel has gone to environmentalists, political activists, and public office holders, it is refreshing, encouraging, and about time that the prize once again has gone to a human rights advocate. Especially one in such need of global support and attention.
Thor Halvorssen is president of the Human Rights Foundation and founder of the Oslo Freedom Forum. Follow him on Twitter and on Facebook.
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Such conduct is illegal even in the US, according to Foreign Agent Registration Act. When we give the prized Nobel to say the West has the right to pay someone to advocate abolition of China's constitution, what does it do to 1.3 billion people's human rights in terms of preservation of sovereignty?
Israeli whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu, who told the world about Israel's nuke program and kept in prsion and now still not allowed to speak to reporters because of draconian laws, was nominated 20 times, but the Israeli government lobbied against it.
"Vanunu informed this foreigner and reporter in March 2006, "This administration tells me I am not allowed to speak to foreigners, the media, and the world. But I do because that is how I prove my true humanity to the world."
Of course, China that has yearned for a Nobel Prize for decades has blocked its citizens from knowing about the Nobel Prize awarded to Liu, has blocked journalists from speaking to Liu's wife or from lettng her travel to be with Liu. What an open, secure and benevolent autocratic dictatorship!
Ignore Zhu below; I am sure other fifty centers will follow with their snipes. See
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/usha-haley/chinas-fifty-cent-party-f_1_b_749989.html
I would highly recommend clicking through to the sites in the blog above with the cartoons and instructions to fifty centers.
You look like one that cannot be persuaded, as you start out with ad hominem attacks.
No nation is going to willingly cower before foreign provocation, whether it comes in the form of a military threat or poke in the eye. The so called "peace prize" is a clear, groundless provocation.
The tr011s such as zhub are soon ignored by anyone following issues with China.
Liu's award belongs to every Chinese citizen that is struggling under the heel of tyranny.
All Chinese can and should be proud of the accomplishment, no matter where they reside in the world.
However, China cannot be the manufacturing center forever. India, Vietnam, Indonesia are all coming up in the world and underpricing Chinese production. It is still harder to start an independent business without political connections and the recent stimulus growth, while necessary, cannot hold forever.
Who said it is easy? The Chinese do live in interesting times, and can only hope that the next gen leaders are just as capable. Religious reforms will come, but again slower than most would plan. Township level deliberative polls are proving to be rife with corruption. Price per vote went up 100 times in the past decade. Until a system can be worked out, and relatively tamper proof (e.g., as can be influenced by foreign forces intent on destroying China), Beijing is not going to budge even if there were 100 other Nobel prizes for dissidents.
No one doubts that.
But I cannot think of any conceive way Mr. Liu's ideas, implementation of which will most likely result in incredible chaos and suffering for Chinese people, are related to Peace.