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China livid after dissident awarded nobel peace prize

Reuters - October 8, 2010

Wojciech Moskwa & Ben Blanchard, Oslo/Beijing – Jailed Chinese democracy activist Liu Xiaobo won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for decades of nonviolent struggle for human rights, infuriating China, which called the award "an obscenity."

The prize shines a spotlight on human rights in China at a time when it is starting to play a leading role on the global stage as a result of its growing economic might.

Liu rose to prominence as a leader during the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989. He was sentenced to 11 years in jail last December for writing a manifesto calling for free speech and multiparty elections.

In giving China its first Nobel recipient, the Norwegian Nobel Committee praised Liu for his "long and nonviolent struggle for fundamental human rights" and reiterated its belief in a "close connection between human rights and peace."

China, which had warned against giving the prize to Liu, said the award would hurt ties with Norway, with which it is currently negotiating a bilateral trade agreement.

"This is an obscenity against the peace prize," Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said. He said Liu's actions were "diametrically opposed to the aims of the Nobel prize."

"Nobel's behest was that the Nobel Peace Prize be awarded to somebody who promoted peace between peoples, promoted international friendship and disarmament," he added.

Beijing residents reported that broadcasts from CNN and the BBC had been cut when the prize was announced.

France, Germany and the European Union all congratulated Liu, saying they had lobbied for his release from prison, but avoided direct criticism of China. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said the values promoted by Liu were "at the core of the European Union."

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said the decision was "courageous," and France's foreign ministry said it sent "a strong message to everyone fighting peacefully for the promotion and protection of human rights."

Thorbjorn Jagland, Nobel committee chairman, said that ignoring the rights situation in China would have undermined the authority of the prize.

"We have to speak when others cannot speak," he said. "It would have been very damaging for the committee if one could say: 'No, we do not dare to give the prize to someone from this big economic and political power.'?"

The Dalai Lama, whose Peace Prize in 1989 similarly angered China, said Liu's award highlighted a "recognition of the increasing voices among the Chinese people in pushing China toward political, legal and constitutional reforms."

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