Keeping Liu Xiaobo's Memory Alive

Rainy weather did not deter some 1,000 people from remembering Liu Xiaobo

Today's weather was unsettled with bursts of rain storms here and there.

But the inclement conditions didn't deter several hundred people who turned out at Tamar in Admiralty to mark the first anniversary of Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo's death.

Originally the event was also supposed to be a rally directed at the Chinese government to free Liu's wife Liu Xia, but she was unexpectedly released and allowed to fly to Berlin on Tuesday.

The candlelight vigil was organized by the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China. Participants bowed at a statue of Liu Xiaobo, that has been seen in and around Causeway Bay.

It's interesting to note that while people in the mainland could not commemorate Liu, some representatives from the Chinese PEN Centre, that helped secure Liu Xia's release, were allowed to travel to Hong Kong to take part in tonight's event.

A candlelight vigil was held tonight at Tamar

Meanwhile, Lam Wing-kee, one of the five booksellers who was abducted in China in 2015, says after Liu Xia was released, human rights activist Qin Yongmin was jailed for 13 years for subversion of state power, which indicated China was not relaxing its policy towards dissidents, and that her ability to fly to Germany was an isolated case.

"I just fear Beijing's control will tighten in the future," he said. "But Liu Xia's release told Hongkongers that we need to hold on and strive for what's right, attend rallies or vigils whenever we can."

Today in Berlin, there are also events to commemorate the first anniversary of Liu Xiaobo's death, but Liu Xia will not be attending, partly because of health reasons and possibly not wanting to cause trouble for her brother, Liu Hui.

Liao Tianqi, the president of the Chinese PEN Centre, said Liu Xia expressed in a note of thanks to Hongkongers and for remembering her husband on the first anniversary of his death.

Liu Xiaobo died of liver cancer last July 13 while in custody in a hospital in Shenyang, Liaoning province. He was 61 years old.

He was serving an 11-year sentence for "inciting subversion of state power" since 2009, after he helped write a petition known as Charter 08, that called for sweeping political reforms.

Liu Xiaobo on Medical Parole

Devastating news today that Nobel Laureate Liu Xiaobo has terminal cancer

There was breaking news this afternoon that Nobel Peace prize winner Liu Xiaobo was being released on medical parole -- because he has terminal liver cancer.

It's bitter sweet to hear the 61-year-old is now being treated in hospital in Shenyang in Liaoning province after he was diagnosed with late stage cancer on May 23, according to one of his lawyers, Shang Baojun, citing Liu's brother.

"It seems to be very serious, very serious," Shang said. "If it was an early stage of cancer, then it would be easier to treat. But at this late stage, the treatment seems much more difficult."

The news of Liu's illness renewed calls for the academic to be released on compassionate grounds.

During the 2010 Nobel ceremony his chair was empty

"At a time when China wants to have a greater international role, it is only fitting that it should show humanity and compassion towards a man who has never committed any violent crime, but has dedicated his life to literature and free expression," PEN Hong Kong, the literature and free speech advocacy group said on its Facebook page.

Liu had previously served as president of Independent Chinese PEN, a sister organization of PEN Hong Kong.

Amnesty International's China researcher Patrick Poon said Beijing should ensure that Liu gets good medical care and access to family members, in particular his wife.

"The authorities must also stop their shameful and illegal house arrest of Liu Xiaobo's wife, Liu Xia," Poon said, "and ensure that she is able to receive visitors, travel freely and visit Liu Xiaobo."

According to friends of Liu Xia, she is worn out from isolation from house arrest, and is depressed and has a heart condition.

There is hope that Liu Xia is with her husband...

Another of Liu's lawyers Mo Shaoping said "in principle" Liu could receive visits from family members, but didn't know if his wife was with him.

Friends who know him were shocked to find out that the man they knew was so energetic before and now is seriously ill.

Apparently Liu is getting treatment from top cancer doctors now, but it's too little too late. With late stage cancer all they can do is try to ease his pain as much as possible.

This makes his imprisonment even more outrageous and cruel. He is so highly respected outside of China for his dedication to making his home country better by pushing for political liberalization with Charter 08 and yet he is condemned by Beijing and sent to prison for 11 years for "inciting subversion of state power".

At this point we can only hope his family, in particular his wife Liu Xia can finally see him without restrictions. He should at least be able to live his last days in dignity, though he probably conducted himself that way in prison too.

He said it best in his statement from his 2009 trial, titled: I Have No Enemies: My Final Statement that was read out as his Nobel lecture.

"Hatred can rot away at a person's intelligence and conscience," he wrote. "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. That is why I hope to be able to transcend my personal experiences as I look upon our nation's development and social change, to counter the regime's hostility with utmost good will, and to dispel hatred with love."

Liu Xiaobo, we will not forget you.

Happy Birthday LXB

Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo turns 61 years old in prison today

Today is dissident Liu Xiaobo's birthday. He is marking his 61st birthday in jail, serving his seventh year of an 11-year sentence for inciting subversion of state power when he wrote and circulated his "Charter 08" petition, demanding greater democratic rights in China.

On Christmas Day, several former pan-democratic lawmakers in Hong Kong, like Lee Cheuk-yan and Albert Ho Chun-yan protested outside the Liaison Office, demanding Liu be released, and that house arrest immediately end for his wife Liu Xia, and the persecution of other dissidents, like rights lawyer Jiang Tianyong, former Wukan village chief Lin Zulian, and Beijing-based activist Hu Shigen.

Activists like Lee Cheuk-yan held a Liu Xiaobo protest

Ho, who is chairman of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movement in China, said after the protest that even though China looks powerful on the surface, "It appears to be so paranoid and so frightened in hearing dissenting voices."

He said locking up more and more non-violent people asking for the recognition of basic rights indicates the "inside is weak and maybe quite fragile."

Liu's 11-year sentence is meant to harshly punish him, but also act as a deterrent to those who think the Chinese should fight for democracy.

What's interesting to note is that this year also marks the sixth anniversary of frosty relations between Beijing and Norway after the Nobel Committee awarded the highly coveted Peace Prize to Liu in 2010.

However, earlier this month, Norway's Foreign Minister Borge Brende made an unannounced visit to Beijing and on December 19 the two countries announced a normalization of relations.

We are waiting for Liu to come to Oslo to receive his award

In the two governments' joint statement, they acknowledged the deterioration in the bilateral relationship had been "due to the Nobel Peace Prize award and events connected to the prize." It added, "The Norwegian side is fully conscious of the position and concerns of the Chinese side and has worked actively to bring the bilateral relations back to the right track."

Brende did not mention anything about human rights. That would be expected, particularly if a country is keen to restore economic ties with Beijing again.

According to Norwegian data, in December 2010, exports of whole salmon to China was 1 million kilograms, that plunged to 315,000 kg in January 2011, and 75,000 the month after.

Despite normalization of relations between the two countries, Liu's Peace Prize still stands and we are patiently waiting to watch him go to Oslo to receive it.

Happy Birthday Liu! We have not forgotten you.

Quote of the Day: Orville Schell

Long-time China watcher Orville Schell and his latest book

When I have the time I like to listen to a weekly podcast called Sinica hosted by two Beijing-based expats/China experts, Kaiser Kuo and Jeremy Goldkorn.

Kuo is American Chinese, studied Putonghua in China and founded the rock band Tang Dynasty as well as Spring and Autumn. He now is director of communications for Baidu.

South African Goldkorn is also fluent in Chinese, and is the founder and editor of Danwei.com, a blog that translates headlines in state media, making these stories more accessible to the outside world.

The two are quite funny on Sinica trading barbs with each other and like to show off how much they know about the mainland. But they also invite guests on the show from journalists to writers and academics to discuss various timely topics.

This past Friday the guest is a leading China watcher, Orville Schell, who has written a number of books on the country, and the latest one co-written with John Delury is called Wealth and Power: China's Long March to the Twenty-First Century.

Interestingly the book is actually about 11 influential officials, writers, activists and leaders who contributed (or not) to the development of modern China. Some include Empress Dowager Cixi, Liang Qichao, Dr Sun Yat-sen, Chiang Kai-shek, as well as Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping and Zhu Rongji.

The authors end with imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo who was sentenced to 11 years in jail in 2009 for inciting subversion of state power for his work on Charter 08, which calls for political reform and the end to one-party rule.

His wife Liu Xia was admitted into hospital in Beijing last month, against her wishes of wanting to be treated overseas. She has been under virtual house arrest since 2010 and because of this isolation has admitted being depressed and physically ill.

This background gives us context to the Sinica podcast, as Goldkorn asked Schell towards the end of the show (around 41:20): What else aside from being rich and powerful, is that what China has to offer the world?

Schell replied:

I think the question that he [Liu Xiaobo] poses for China and for indeed all of us is what is the real goal? And for him the real goal is not simply to be wealthy and powerful and to look good. He's much more of a humanist. And I think also lurking in the back of his critique is something that the leaders now sort of see but are quite surprised by, namely that getting wealthy and powerful doesn't get what people thought for all these 170 years create ipso facto respect.

And that is what is really wanted -- is respect. That's why there's such an incredible fixation on soft power. And I think Liu Xiaobo is sort of trying to feel his way to some kind of answer of respect and basically what he is saying if I read him correctly is, if you want to be respected, you first of all have to earn the respect of your own people.

And I think this is where China is still incomplete. And so in a certain sense his answer is justice does create a kind of respect of your own people and that can be brought home the most yearned for aspect of the whole 20th century sort of struggle which is to be respected by the world is still elusive. And I think it is very galling for these leaders to find it can't be had by control.

After Schell said this, there was a few seconds of silence as everyone in the room digested this well thought out observation.

Which makes one wonder, does China realize what it is doing will never gain it the respect it craves, and will it do anything about it?

A Reminder of Liu Xiaobo

Liu Xiaobo and his wife Liu Xia in happier times

The Nobel Prizes were awarded this week and US Secretary of State John Kerry used the timing to call for Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo to be released five years after he was detained, as well as the harsh house arrest-like situation his wife Liu Xia is living in in Beijing.

While Liu Xiaobo is serving an 11-year sentence for subversion for his part in drafting Charter 08, his wife has had to endure a practically solitary existence where she is cut off from friends and the internet, only able to see her family once a week and visit her husband every three months.

Most recently she sent a message via a friend saying she believed she had developed depression and wanted to see an independent doctor, and that she wished that she and Liu Xiaobo could read each others' correspondence.

A poet, Liu Xia was financially dependent on her brother's income since her husband's incarceration, but now he too is serving an 11-year sentence what many believe is a trumped up conviction for fraud.

On Monday Kerry said in a statement: "We strongly urge Chinese authorities to release Liu Xiaobo, to end Liu Xia's house arrest, and to guarantee to Liu Xiaobo and his family members all internationally recognized human rights protections and freedoms.

"As the United States builds a constructive relationship with China, US leaders will continue to raise concerns related to respect for the rule of law, human rights, religious freedom and democratic principles with their Chinese counterparts."

But the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei rebuffed Kerry's call saying, that China was a country that followed the rule of law, but that Liu Xiaobo broke the law and was naturally being punished according to Chinese law.

China remembers Mandela, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate

However, things got tricky with the passing of Nelson Mandela last week.

Chinese state media lauded Mandela's legacy, and so internet users jumped on the apparently contradiction that it praised a former prisoner and yet the government had jailed Liu without mentioning his name directly.

Nevertheless, nationalist-leaning The Global Times struck back, saying it was wrong to cast Liu and Mandela in the same light.

"This year, as Chinese people mourned the late South African leader Nelson Mandela, some Western media deliberately cast a light on the imprisonment of Liu and praised him as 'China's Mandela'," the editorial said.

"Mandela was a Nobel Peace Prize laureate for leading African people to anti-apartheid victory through struggles, tolerance and efforts to bridge differences. However, awarding a Chinese prisoner who confronted authorities and was rejected by mainstream Chinese society derides China's judiciary system," it said.

No matter how much it tries to label Liu as a criminal, he was awarded the highest honour by the Nobel committee, something the Chinese government cannot erase, and his Peace Prize puts him in the same league as Mandela.

Everyone can see through China's pathetic argument. Its statement about Liu's rejection by mainstream Chinese society is mostly due to the government's own doing. It has managed to prevent most of the public from knowing about Liu and Charter 08 that calls for political reforms.

We hope outside pressure calling for Liu's release will continue, and the anniversary of the Nobel Prize ceremony is a good time to do this.

However we worry about Liu Xia and her desperation to find sanity in the soul-sapping situation she is in. Liu Xiaobo will make it through, but will his wife be able to withstand seven more years of psychological imprisonment?