2010 Nobel Peace Prize Winner, Liu Xiaobo
Introduction
Petar Kujundzic–Reuters
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Policemen on Friday blocked the entrance to the compound where Liu Xia, the wife of Liu Xiaobo, lives in Beijing. View more photos.
The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to Liu Xiaobo, China’s most prominent dissident, who is currently serving an 11-year prison sentence on subversion charges. He has spent two decades advocating for peaceful political change, civil liberties and judicial independence. The Chinese Communist government immediately blacked out news of the award, calling the decision a “desecration” of the peace prize.
Could this award make a difference, if not with the Chinese government, then for other nations in their dealings with China? What effects might we see within China; for example, could the international attention be used to hurt the dissident movement?
Policemen on Friday blocked the entrance to the compound where Liu Xia, the wife of Liu Xiaobo, lives in Beijing.
Contributors’ Comments from Yang Jianli: Pressure From Abroad
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Yang Jianli is a former prisoner of conscience in China and one of Liu’s Xiaobo’s international team of human rights specialists. He now resides in the U.S. and is the president of Initiatives for China.
The presentation of the Peace Prize to Liu Xiaobo represents an incredible opportunity to bring the public’s awareness of democratization and human rights issues in China to another level.
Real political change in China happens when there are crises, viable opposition and international support.
Combined with Prime Minister Wen Jiabao’s recent statements about the need for political reforms, this event could well encourage more Chinese citizens to join the democratic forces under the banner of Charter ’08, the reform manifesto which Liu helped create.
I believe we can expect interesting and significant changes both in and out the government. As I said long ago, to effect a real change in China, three conditions must be present at the same time: crises (now mounting in many ways among ordinary citizens), viable opposition and international support. These three factors are emerging with greater force.
The media blackouts in China of Liu’s award are regrettable, and the government’s restrictions on Liu Xiaobo’s wife, Liu Xia, are downright shameful. But it’s not surprising that the authorities’ first response is to tighten control because that is the only thing they know. With the international spotlight on Liu, the authorities will pay a heavier price than ever before for their heavy-handed policies.