China Furious at The Nobel Peace Prize Award

By Static Chaos

Jailed Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo (劉曉波) won the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for “two decades of non-violent struggle for human rights”. China is totally livid and called the award “an obscenity” as reported by Reuters.

Liu Xiaobo, a former literature professor, was initially detained on 8 December 2008 due to his participation with Charter 08, a manifesto to promote political reform and democratization in the People’s Republic of China. He was subsequently sentenced to 11 years in jail. More than 8,100 people inside and outside of China have signed Charter 08 since its release.

Beijing, who had warned the Nobel Institute against granting the prize to Liu this summer, immediately summoned Norway’s ambassador to protest. Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu declared in a statement “This is an obscenity against the peace prize.”

Reportedly, CNN and BBC broadcasts in Beijing were cut when the prize was mentioned. Liu’s wife Liu Xia told Reuters Chinese police was taking her to Liu Xiaobo’s prison in northeastern China to prevent foreign reporters speaking to her.

The West, including Britain, France, Germany, the European Union, and the United Nations, although congratulated Liu, were all very careful to avoid saying anything sensitive that would upset China.

“Peace, Self-perseverance, A Strong China” was the final wish of Dr. Sun Yat-sen (孫中山) before he had a chance to fully implement the Three Principles of the People (三民主義) – .Nationalism (民族), Democracy (民權) and the People’s Livelihood (民生). 

Judging from the muted reactions from the Western world, it appears China is finally getting stronger after centuries plagued by foreign invasions and internal turmoils.  However, the newly minted status also has come with a huge price tag of Democracy and People’s Livelihood - two of the Three Principles.  And if history is of any indication, no country and/or political system would last long without all three principles as part of its foundation.   

Video Source: Reuters

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