OSLO, (Reuters) – Jailed Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in a ceremony where he was represented by an empty chair and he dedicated it from prison to the “lost souls” of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown.
China called the award in Oslo a “political farce”.
U.S. President Barack Obama, a Peace Prize laureate last year, called for the prompt release of 54-year-old Liu, who was jailed last year for 11 years for subversion.
In Beijing, police stepped up patrols at key points on Friday, including Tiananmen Square, where witnesses say hundreds or thousands were killed when troops crushed reform protests, and Liu’s apartment where his wife is believed to be under house arrest. Authorities tightened a clampdown on dissidents.
There were no signs of trouble in Beijing where memories of Tiananmen have faded for many as China has risen as a global economic and political power while guarding the Communist Party’s tight hold on society.
Instead of awarding the Nobel medal and citation to Liu, it was simply placed on his chair in the ceremony in Oslo’s City Hall as the audience cheered. A large portrait of the laureate, bespectacled and smiling, hung nearby.
Norwegian actress Liv Ullmann read out an address made by Liu, who was closely involved in Tiananmen and more recently helped found the reform group Charter 08, to a court during his trial for subversion in December 2009.
“I, filled with optimism, look forward to the advent of a future, free China,” the address said.
“For there is no force that can put an end to the human quest for freedom, and China will in the end become a nation ruled by law, where human rights reign supreme.”
“Hatred can rot away at a person’s intelligence and conscience. (The) enemy mentality will poison the spirit of a nation, incite cruel mortal struggles, destroy a society’s tolerance and humanity, and hinder a nation’s progress toward freedom and democracy.”
