China is outraged at one of its citizens being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, and has threatened Norway with diplomatic consequences for allowing the award.
The prize, worth 10 million krona ($1.5 million), was awarded to Liu Xiaobo, a 54-year-old former university professor internationally feted for his efforts to promote democracy in China, though little known in China itself due to state censorship.
Liu was jailed for 11 years in 2008 for “inciting subversion” after daring to suggest China should institute democratic reforms.
China was indignant at the award, calling Liu a “criminal” and saying the decision to award it to him “runs counter to the intent of the prize, and desecrates the peace prize.”
Showing its usual diplomatic finesse, China then threatened Norway with for allowing the prize to be awarded, saying that it “will likely cause damage to our relations with Norway.” Just what it intends to do was left unspecified.
China also summoned the Norwegian ambassador for a dressing down, in spite of the fact the prize is not awarded by the government but by an independent body (albeit one with members appointed by the Norwegian parliament).
Reporting of the award was heavily censored in China – Nobel prize reports from such broadcasters as the BBC, CNN and NHK were blacked out when they began to mention China’s unwanted triumph:
mr.Liu himself is a loser after all.
i know his opinion clearly but most of chinese will not agree with this criminal. he said china should be ruled by western countries as long as possible – he’s sick.
nobel peace prize? look obama.
in fact many chinese support liu
Nobel prize is no longer the same “Nobel Prize” a few decades ago.
More likely, it has became a political setup for whatever reasons suitable.
This, Obama, what a joke.
I just cracked the code on the Nobel Peace Prize: in a nutshell, they’re the trolls of world politics.
The decision process of the Nobel Peace Prize committee isn’t to decide who made the biggest contribution to peace and give it to them. The process is to decide who (in their opinion, of course) made the biggest assault on peace, and give it to their enemy.
It isn’t “GJ, person we give it to.” It’s “FU, enemies of the person we give it to.”
Now this is the valid explanation that people “won’t ” want to hear.
Well, maybe this’ll encourage China to spring the poor bastard. It doesn’t really do much for PR to have a Nobel Peace Prize awarded for the same reason you’ve imprisoned someone. Not that China gives a crap about PR or pissing ANYONE off.
I say they give the man another award just to rub it in china’s face