Nobel Prize winner's empty chair puts spotlight on China

Published on Friday 10 December 2010 16:38

CHINESE dissident Liu Xiaobo has been awarded a Nobel Peace Prize diploma in Norway - despite being imprisoned in his homeland.

The award was placed in his empty chair to a standing ovation at the ceremony in Oslo yesterday, as dignitaries demanded his release.

It was the first time in 74 years the prestigious 900,000 award was not handed over, because Liu is serving an 11-year sentence in China on subversion charges for urging sweeping changes to Beijing's one-party communist political system.

China was infuriated when the 54-year-old literary critic won, describing the award as an attack on its political and legal system.

Authorities have placed Liu's supporters, including his wife, Liu Xia, under house arrest to prevent anyone from picking up his prize.

In China, both CNN and BBC television channels went black at 8pm local time for nearly an hour, exactly when the Oslo ceremony took place.

Security outside Liu's Beijing apartment was heavy and several dozen journalists were herded by police to a cordoned-off area.

In his speech, Norwegian Nobel committee chairman Thorbjorn Jagland called for Liu's release, receiving an unusual standing ovation at the international gathering in Norway's capital.

"He has not done anything wrong. He must be released," he said, noting that neither Liu nor his closest relatives were able to attend the ceremony.

"This fact alone shows that the award was necessary and appropriate," he said.

He placed Liu's Nobel diploma on the empty chair marking Liu's absence as famous faces, including film stars Denzel Washington and Anne Hathaway, looked on.

Norwegian actress Liv Ullman read Liu's final statement, "I Have No Enemies," which he delivered in a Chinese court in 2009 before he was jailed. The Chinese foreign ministry described the award as a "political farce" and said it reflected Cold War mentality and infringed upon China's judicial sovereignty.

"(It] does not represent the wish of the majority of the people in the world, particularly that of the developing countries," ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said in Beijing.

In Washington, President Barack Obama said he regretted that Liu and his wife were not allowed to go to the ceremony as he and First Lady Michelle Obama did when he won the peace prize last year. "Liu Xiaobo is far more deserving of this award than I was," he said.

The last time a Nobel Peace Prize was not handed out was in 1936, when Adolf Hitler prevented pacifist Carl von Ossietzky from accepting his award.

China had pressured foreign diplomats to stay away from the Nobel ceremony, with several countries joining their boycott, including Russia, Pakistan and Venezuela.

Chinese dissident Wan Yanhai said Liu's honour will be tinged with sadness. He said: "I believe many people will cry, because everything he [Lui] has done did not do any harm to the country and the people in the world."

The countries that stayed away from the ceremony: