Two Hongkongers Are Refugees in Germany

Ray Wong (left) and Alan Li (right) at the German Parliament in Berlin

Yesterday it was reported two pro-independence activists involved with the localist group Hong Kong Indigenous have been granted asylum in Germany. The Hong Kong government has yet to react to the news.

That's because Ray Wong Toi-yeung and Alan Li Tung-sing were facing criminal charges for their alleged role in the Mongkok riot in 2016, and they fled Hong Kong in November 2017 before their trial. They were granted refugee status in Germany last May.

Police detain Wong (second left) during the Mongkok riots

The German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) said it received two asylum applications from Hong Kong in 2017.

According to Germany policy, the government would have to consider whether the pair faced persecution back home based on their political opinion or a disproportionate or discriminatory judicial proceeding when granting them asylum and subsequently a settlement permit equivalent to citizenship.
 
Wong, 25, said he decided to go public with his asylum status because the Hong Kong government was trying to push ahead with the extradition bill, which would allow the transfer of criminal suspects to mainland China, a law that some critics fear could be used for political purposes.

He and Li, 27, will speak at the German Parliament on June 4, the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown. The event is hosted by the Green Party, where academic Kristin Shi-Kupfer and writer Zhou Qing will speak as well.

We're intrigued and impressed how Wong and Li managed to get asylum in Germany, but how will they fare there? Hope they've been learning German... would they change their political stance of mainlanders now that they can count Ai Weiwei and Liu Xia as their fellow dissidents?

Hongkongers Protest Extradition

Some 130,000 came out today to protest plans for controversial extradition bill

Heartened to see over 100,000 people turn out to protest against the Hong Kong government's plan to push through the extradition bill that would have suspects sent to countries the city had agreements with, including China, Taiwan and Macau.

Critics fear it gives Beijing more authority over Hong Kong, that it could target political activists, lead to forced confessions and arbitrary detentions, and if someone is extradited to the mainland, many of us know China's "rule of law" is different from what it is in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

This afternoon some 130,000 showed up -- the largest since the estimated 510,000 during the annual July 1 protest in 2014. The police claimed otherwise, saying 22,800 were in the march.

Many fear what the government has in mind for extradition

This is ridiculous from the pictures taken by the media, especially overhead. People who arrived late at Causeway Bay had to wait two hours before they could start the 2.2km march and the did so patiently.

The march was timed just before the sentencing of Chan Tong-kai, who brutally murdered his girlfriend in Taiwan last year, but because there is no extradition agreement between Hong Kong and Taiwan, he cannot be tried there.

The Hong Kong government used this horrific crime as an argument for the extradition bill and get the public on side, but today showed people thought otherwise.

Some who spoke to the media felt the government has become more like a dictatorship and not listening to the people, calling for Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor to step down, while others felt it was important to voice their opinion about the matter for the sake of their children's futures.

The march also protested the jailing of four Occupy leaders

Many of the protesters also carried yellow umbrellas, symbolic of the Occupy protest leaders who were sent to jail earlier this week: Benny Tai Yiu-ting, Dr Chan Kin-man, lawmaker Shiu Ka-chun and League of Social Democrats vice-chairman Raphael Wong Ho-ming.

It's disappointing to see acting chief executive Matthew Cheung Kin-chung dismiss today's protest march, basically saying the government would not be swayed by the turnout.

He said people enjoyed freedom of speech and assembly and the right to stage protests.

"But it has to be conducted in a lawful manner. Whether the turnout is big or small is not the main concern," he said.

A mock jailing with batons was acted out by at the march

Cheung dismissed concerns about the possible abuse of the proposed extradition bill, saying it would not apply to cases involving human rights, politics or capital punishment.

The government has promised it would consider each case carefully, saying the executive authority and the court would perform their respective gatekeeping roles in handling all surrender requests. It said it would reject any surrender request that did not meet legal requirements.

May we remind the government how Beijing punished dissident artist Ai Weiwei, claiming he did not pay his taxes? And then felt it had the right to just destroy his studio in Bejiing without warning?

And the same could be said for Liu Xia, the wife of Liu Xiaobo; her brother was convicted on trumped up charges of fraud and sentenced to 11 years in jail and was later released.

How can we trust the Hong Kong government will not do the same?

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.

Free At Last

The picture just say it all -- Liu Xia at Helsinki airport on the way to Berlin

There are two things to be thrilled about today!

The last four boys and their coach were taken out of the Tham Luang cave today. It is a miracle they all made it out safely considering how dangerous it was for the rescuers to get to them.

The boys and their coach have evacuated the cave safely

They are all now in hospital to check for any infections and hopefully they will be reunited with their families soon.

But we are also elated that Liu Xia is finally free!!!

This morning she boarded a flight to Berlin, stopping in transit in Helsinki where she emerged from the plane with arms wide open with a big smile on her face.

Despite not being charged with anything, the 57-year-old had been under virtual house arrest since 2010 when her husband, Liu Xiaobo, won the Nobel Peace Prize. Her flight to Berlin comes days before the first anniversary of Liu Xiaobo's death from liver cancer.

Hopefully leaving China will help Liu Xia start a new page in her life, and get better, as she was suffering from clinical depression, and needed medication just to sleep.

Liu Xia has been suffering from clinical depression

Interestingly AFP reporters managed to visit her in her Beijing apartment on Monday but saw no signs of her packing up and preparing to leave.

Her flight coincides with Premier Li Keqiang's visit to Germany, where he told Chancellor Angela Merkel yesterday that Liu Xia would be released soon for medical treatment.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a daily press briefing that Liu had gone to Germany "to treat her illness according to her wishes", adding the issue was not "diplomatic in nature".

The Chinese are trying desperately to paint this as giving Liu the freedom to move, but really she has been pleading to leave for years. A few months ago she raised the alarm when she hinted she would rather die than stay in China.

Hua Chunying asking why all the questions about Liu Xia

At today's briefing, Hua was also annoyed that Hong Kong reporters were asking many questions about Liu. One question asked was why Liu Xiaobo and his wife weren't allowed to leave the country for medical treatment, but Liu Xia was able to leave now.

"I think your colleagues from Hong Kong are especially interested in the issue. Why are you so interested? I believe there are far more areas for you to follow," Hua replied.

Trying to downplay an important question just shows how much the Chinese are keen to avoid answering it.

While Liu is physically free, she may not speak out much as her younger brother Liu Hui is still in Beijing.

Regardless, we can only hope that being out of China will be good for Liu Xia and that she can create a new chapter in her life -- in freedom.

Will Xi Listen to the Tiananmen Mothers?

A group picture of the parents who are part of Tiananmen Mothers in 2015

A few days ago, before the 29th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown, the families of the protesters killed sent an open letter to Chinese President Xi Jinping asking him to acknowledge their suffering and "re-evaluate the June 4th massacre".

The letter, dated "the eve of 2018 June 4th", the Tiananmen Mothers, an association of parents whose children died protesting against the central government, said: "Each year when we would commemorate our loved ones, we are all monitored, put under surveillance, or forced to travel.

Ding Zilin a few years ago with her son's portrait

"No one from the successive governments over the past 29 years has ever asked after us, and not one word of apology has been spoken from anyone, as if the massacre that shocked the world never happened," said the letter, which was released by the non-profit group Human Rights in China.

"The 1989 June Fourth bloody massacre is a crime the state committed against the people. Therefore, it is necessary to re-evaluate the June Fourth massacre," the letter said, calling for "truth, compensation and accountability" from the government.

It is heart breaking the parents need to do this every year -- to get the attention of the government and plead their case. For Beijing not to acknowledge the incident means the hundreds, probably thousands of people who died -- not just students, but also ordinary people -- died in vain.

Hong Kong is the only place in China to remember June 4

It is sad that an entire generation of young people are not clear on what happened 29 years ago -- they were taught to believe the students protesting were violent and branded counter-revolutionaries.

Thank goodness Hong Kong will continue the tradition of commemorating this event. This open letter will probably be read out that evening and speeches will be made,  pleading for the release Liu Xia, the wife of Liu Xiaobo from house arrest.

People around the world must keep the issue alive, to tell Beijing we will never forget and that it must be accountable for its actions 29 years ago.

Appeals for Liu Xia's Freedom are Rejected

Liu Xia and Liu Xiaobo's last days together before he died last July

Liu Xia, wife of the late dissident writer Liu Xiaobo recently revealed she is losing her will to live. It was a plea in the hopes of leaving China, as she is currently under house arrest for a crime she did not commit.

One of Liu Xia's poems that she read in a video

Germany said earlier it would welcome Liu, who suffers from depression and believe to be in declining health, after a recording was released of her crying in desperation and indicating she has given up hope of being able to leave China.

"If I can't leave, I'll die in my home," Liu said during a recent phone call she had with her close friend Liao Yiwu, a writer who recorded their conversation.

In response the other day, over a dozen international writers and artists together with Amnesty International and PEN America have appealed for her release by issuing videos of them reading Liu Xia's poems.

Some of those reading the poem include Rita Dove, JM Coetzee, Paul Auster, and Khaled Hosseini.

However, China rejected this latest plea, saying Liu Xia's right to travel can only be determined by the Chinese government.

"It is a matter that falls within China's judicial sovereignty," Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said on Thursday at a regularly scheduled news conference. "She is a Chinese national [and] we of course handle the relevant issue in accordance with our laws and regulations."

Liu Xia is depressed and does not have the will to live longer

No matter how much attention Liu Xia gets from the outside, China refuses to back down -- it is determined to punish her along with her family for her association with Liu Xiaobo, who was sentenced to 11 years in prison for "inciting subversion of state power" in 2009. Before the Nobel laureate died last July of liver cancer, Liu Xia was only able to see him for a few days.

It is curious why the Chinese government sees Liu Xia as a threat and does everything it can to make her life nothing short of hell -- not being able to receive visitors, not being able to go out without being followed, and tapping her phone calls.

She has no choice but feel like there is no hope left for her except to die and rejoin Liu Xiaobo in another world. Surely Beijing wouldn't want that to happen?

China's Evolving Definition of Human Rights

Liu Xiaobo and Liu Xia suffered human rights violations

With the year ending in just over two weeks, China has already hailed 2017 as one of "remarkable" progress in human rights, including its achievements in anti-corruption and legal reform, which don't have much, if anything to do with human rights.

The latest State Council white paper listed international cooperation on counterterrorism and climate change, as well as the "Sky Net" program to hunt down and repatriate fugitives accused of corruption as human rights achievements.

So forcibly bringing back people to stand for corruption charges is a good thing for human rights?

In the past China has included the right to peace, and the right to economic development.

Migrant workers are being forced out of Beijing

How random and irrelevant to consider these under the meaning of human rights (everywhere else).

Many international critics focused on the detention and death in custody of Nobel Peace Prize-winning dissident Liu Xiaobo and how he was only briefly reunited with his wife Liu Xia before he died of cancer in July. Afterwards his body was hastily cremated and the ashes dumped at sea to avoid some kind of memorial for democracy activists.

His widow is still closely watched by the authorities and her whereabouts are still unknown. Doesn't she have human rights?

There are also human rights violations in pushing migrant workers out of Beijing on the pretense of a fire in Daxing District on November 18 that killed 19 people. Following the fire, the authorities immediately launched a 40-day campaign to get rid of the "low-end population", a word that has since been banned from China's cyberspace.

Migrant workers who provide essential services or do jobs that no one else wants to do are being pushed out of the Chinese capital with very little notice and the experience has been so harsh and violent that they don't feel welcome anymore and have no choice but to go back to their hometowns.

Uyghurs' DNA are now being collected by the police

Did the authorities realize what effect this vicious campaign will have on how the city will function from now on?

But another shocking human rights violation is a recent report from The Guardian that says DNA, fingerprints and other biometric data are being collected from Uyghurs in a "health check", called "Physicals for All". It is unclear if patients are aware this data is being collected and shared with the police.

"The mandatory databanking of a whole population's biodata, including DNA, is a gross violation of international human rights norms," said Sophie Richardson, China director at Human Rights Watch. It is even more disturbing if it is done surreptitiously, under the guise of a free healthcare program.

"Xinjiang authorities should rename their physical exams project 'Privacy Violations for All', as informed consent and real choice does not seem to be part of these programs," she added.

However, China is ignoring its critics and continuing this terrifying project -- even if someone hasn't committed a crime.

So when China says it's had a "remarkable" year in human rights, it really is living in a parallel universe where its definition is so far removed from everyone else's.

Democracy Activist Claims Being Abducted

Howard Lam shows the signed postcard apparently from Lionel Messi

There are questions around the Democratic Party's Howard Lam Tsz-kin's claims that he was abducted by mainland Chinese agents and beaten up, had his thighs punctured with staples, then left in his underwear on a beach.

That's what he said this afternoon in a press conference -- even revealed the staples still in his thighs.

Staples in Lam's thighs were still there for the media to see

Lam claims that footballer Lionel Messi had given him a signed postcard to give to Liu Xia, the wife of the late Liu Xiaobo, and because of this, mainland agents threw him into a van in Portland Street soon after he bought some football jerseys.

During the press conference, Lam said he hadn't gone to the police because he didn't trust them, but after meeting the media he would go to the hospital to get checked out.

The Hong Kong police is obviously concerned and has launched an investigation into this bizarre-sounding incident, and has said that if anyone experiences an incident, they should report it to the authorities as soon as possible so that the culprits won't destroy evidence or get away.

Which is why we wonder if Lam's claims are real or fabricated. For someone who was apparently roughed up, there aren't many serious bruises on his body, and why keep those staples in his thighs for so long? Why not take a picture and then go to the hospital to get treated?

Lam went to the hospital after his press conference

If he really was abducted, these guys were really low level ones to think of stapling his thighs.

However, if this is a hoax, then why go through all this trouble? Why is he seeking this kind of attention?

When I first read the story I was quite shocked, but now the more I think about it, the more questions I have about Lam's motivations.

We'll have to see what happens in the coming days -- does his claim fall flat, or are there some mainland abductors who are staple-gun crazy?

Where is Liu Xia?

An optimistic portrait of Liu Xiaobo and Liu Xia by Badiucao

Since Liu Xiaobo's funeral on July 15, after which his ashes were scattered at sea, there has apparently been no sighting of his wife Liu Xia.

Her US-based lawyer Jared Genser claims that she is being held in an undisclosed location by the Chinese government.

In a statement to AFP, Genser said: "I demand that Chinese authorities immediately provide proof that Liu Xia is alive and allow her unhindered access to her family, friends, counsel, and the international community."

Liu Xia watches her husband's ashes being scattered at sea

The United States, the UN high commissioner for human rights and Amnesty International have all called on Beijing to free Liu Xia, 56, from house arrest without charge since Liu Xiaobo won the Nobel Peace prize in 2010.

However, Beijing insists she is a free citizen, and that grieving for her husband's death has prevented her from getting in touch with friends or her lawyer.

The Nobel Peace Prize committee is very concerned about Liu Xia's condition, as she suffers from depression due to house arrest and constant surveillance that make it very difficult to have contact with anyone, even family members.

The Nobel Committee has called on the Chinese government to "lift all restrictions they have put upon her", adding: "If she wants to leave China, there is no justification for denying her the opportunity to do so."

In Hong Kong, protesters demand Liu Xia be released

A relative told the media this week that Liu Xia had returned to Beijing, but her whereabouts were unknown.

The Hong Kong-based Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy said it was unable to contact her directly.

Activist Hu Jia noted while she may have returned to Beijing, she may not necessarily be at home.

"Her being back in Beijing and back in her apartment are two different things," Hu said. "She might still be locked up or she's been placed with relatives in Beijing upon returning to the city."

Why is Beijing so worried about what Liu Xia will say? Can we not even see if she is OK or not? Liu Xiaobo is in another place. Surely his wife can now live the rest of her days in peace?

Or are they hoping they can some how make her disappear so that we will forget her?

Remembering Liu Xiaobo Seven Days Later

A memorial for Liu Xiaobo was held at Tamar in Admiralty

I'm sorry I missed another memorial for Liu Xiaobo in Hong Kong last night.

It was the seventh day of his death, where the Chinese believe the spirit of the newly deceased will return home to bid a final farewell to their loved ones.

In Hong Kong, about 1,500 people gathered at Tamar in Admiralty, where they paid their last respects to the political dissident and Nobel Peace Prize winner who died of liver cancer on July 13.

Liu is remembered with pictures of a chair by the water

People signed condolence books and placed flowers in front of a large portrait of Liu with the words "Remembering Liu Xiaobo -- Free Liu Xia" at the park. Local musicians also performed several songs, including John Lennon's Imagine. At the end of the one-hour memorial, people raised three fingers in the air to represent resistance, freedom and hope.

Finally, a chair with a candle on it was lowered into Victoria Harbour. There are reports police were present but didn't intervene.

There were similar memorials in Vancouver, Boston, Melbourne and London.

It is believed the family was pressured by the Chinese government to cremate the Chinese dissident's body so soon after his death -- usually it is done at least a week after in observance of the Chinese custom.

Also his ashes were scattered into the sea in a controversial burial in an attempt by Beijing to deny supporters a place of pilgrimage. It is also known as a cruel form of posthumous punishment in traditional Chinese culture, where having a tomb is a place for one's descendants to pay tribute to the dead.

Projecting Liu Xiaobo's face on the facade of the PLA!

In the meantime there is serious concern over the whereabouts of his wife, Liu Xia. It is believed she may have been forced to "take a vacation" in the southwestern province of Yunnan.

Not only was she apparently detained, but also Liu Xiaobo's friends, who were reportedly under house arrest, unable to attend memorials. Others were detained after holding ceremonies by the sea.

On social media, people have been posting pictures of chairs by or in the sea, sometimes with flowers and the hashtag #liuxiaobo.

It's telling how far the Chinese government has gone to try to censor anything related to Liu Xiaobo, and yet people just keep remembering him through creative ways.

I think Liu would have been pleased to know so many around the world came out courageously to remember him in various ways.

Perhaps projecting his image on the barracks of the People's Liberation Army in Hong Kong is probably the most daring.

Only in Hong Kong...

Liu's Day has Come

Artist Ai Weiwei's Lego portrait of Liu Xiaobo

Anyone who has been reading the news of the deteriorating health of dissident Liu Xiaobo has been dreading this day, but it has come. He died today at the age of 61.

He is the first Nobel Peace Prize winner to die in custody since German pacifist Carl von Ossietzky, who won the prize in 1935 during the Nazi era.

This will be a dark stain on Chinese President Xi Jinping's legacy and the Chinese Communist Party that is desperately trying to win over the rest of the world through soft and hard power.

Letting Liu leave the country in his last days and hours would have been the humanitarian thing to do, and win Xi points on the world stage, but this is not how the president operates, as he has taken a harder line than any recent previous leaders.

China didn't want to be seen as giving in to Liu's last wishes of leaving the country in the hopes that his wife Liu Xia would have a better life.

Perhaps even more outrageous is that Liu's liver cancer diagnosis was announced at such a late stage that there was nothing any doctor or treatment could do. This appears to be a deliberate move so that no one could do anything.

At the same time, Liu's health condition had to be announced to avoid China being accused of killing him in prison, which would have raised issues of his treatment in incarceration.

While we are outraged at how the Chinese government treated Liu, where were all the world leaders speaking out about violating his human right to proper medical treatment? They are too scared to anger China with economies dependent on the country to stay afloat.

Liu can now rest in peace, but what of his wife? She will probably remain under some kind of house arrest, though she is the innocent bystander in all of this. Liu Xia is emotionally fragile and surely his death will make it even harder to keep going.

PEN America will be holding a vigil tonight in New York and we will probably see other groups hold similar events tonight and in the next day or so.

Liu was China's moral compass and he has died knowing he has done his part for his country.

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.

Words from Behind Bars

2010 Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo smuggled a message out of jail

Chinese Nobel peace laureate Liu Xiaobo will be spending his fifth year in prison this year come December 25.

But he doesn't want others to worry about him, that he is relatively healthy and would rather people pay more attention to other Chinese activists in jail.

"The aura around me is enough already. I hope the world can pay more attention to other victims who are not well known, or not known at all," he said in a message that was apparently smuggled out of jail and somehow sent to dissident Liao Yiwu, who lives in exile in Germany.

Liao posted the message on Facebook on Thursday and did not elaborate on how he received the message from Liu, who is serving an 11-year jail sentence for inciting state subversion.

Liao would only say he received the message on Tuesday through channels in China and that it was the first time he heard from Liu in more than six years.

"My eyes are suddenly moist," Liao said on Facebook.

Liu's wife, Liu Xia can visit her husband in jail once a month, though their meetings are closely monitored. She has become more depressed and physically weak because she is so isolated even from her family, whom she can only have dinner with once a week.

The jailed activist's message adds he is doing well and has been reading and thinking.

"Through my studies, I have become even more convinced that I have no personal enemies," Liu said.

He may be languishing in jail, but he wants to tell the world he's surviving.

And hopefully those are the words Liu Xia needs to know to gather the strength to carry on.

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?