Breathless from disbelief at receiving unexpected visitors into her home and with a shaking voice, Liu Xia told The Associated Press in her first interview in more than two years, that her ongoing house arrest has been a painfully surreal experience. She said she has been confined to her duplex apartment in downtown Beijing with no Internet or outside phone line and only allowed weekly trips to buy groceries and visit her parents.

Once a month, she is taken to see her husband who is four years into an 11-year prison term for subversion for authoring and disseminating a sweeping call for democratic reform known as Charter ’08.

[…] “I felt I was a person emotionally prepared to respond to the consequences of Liu Xiaobo winning the prize. But after he won the prize, I really never imagined that after he won, I would not be able to leave my home. This is too absurd. I think Kafka could not have written anything more absurd and unbelievable than this.”

[…] “I can’t remember [when I last saw my husband],” she said. “I don’t keep track of the days anymore. That’s how it is.”

Watch the AP video of the interview:

See also photographs of an emotional Liu Xia taken by the AP.

On Tuesday, a group of 134 Nobel laureates wrote to Party General Secretary Xi Jinping, urging him to release Liu Xiaobo and Liu Xia [.pdf]:

On December 25, 2009, your government sentenced Dr. Liu, a highly respected intellectual and democracy advocate, to 11 years in prison for “inciting subversion.” The charges were based on his political essays and co-authorship of “Charter 08,” which called for peaceful political reform in China based on the principles of human rights, freedom, and democracy. Shortly after the Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded Dr. Liu its Peace Prize, the government placed Liu Xia under house arrest, where she remains cut off from the outside world two years later without charge or the benefit of any legal process. In response to the continued detentions of Dr. Liu and Liu Xia, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, an independent and impartial body of experts, issued Opinions No. 15-16/2011, finding their detentions to be in violation of international law; however, despite this finding their cases remain unresolved.

Across all disciplines, the distinguishing feature which led to our recognition as Nobel Laureates is that we have embraced the power of our intellectual freedom and creative inspiration to do our part to advance the human condition. No government can restrict freedom of thought and association without having a negative effect on such important human innovation. Indeed, we Laureates are distressed that your government continues to block access to the main Nobel Prize web site (www.nobelprize.org).

Archbishop Desmond Tutu also launched a public petition calling for the couple’s release, which has now almost reached 200,000 signatures. Another letter came from within China on Tuesday, from a group of 40 activists including Hu Jia, legal scholar He Weifang and rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang:

Inside China and abroad, people are hoping to see signs for political reform as China ushers in new leadership. Systematic political changes are complex and many-faceted, requiring rational deliberation and orderly actions, and we would like to see various social forces working together to advance this process.

we propose the followings as initial steps for political and social change:

1.Initiate legal procedures immediately to reverse the wrong verdict against Dr. Liu Xiaobo, and set him free as soon as possible;

2.Immediately lift the restrictions imposed on Liu Xia, Liu Xiaobo’s wife, ending forced isolation, and allowing her to live her normal life;

3.Immediately free those who have been detained or sentenced for their political stand, expression, or religious beliefs;

4.Immediately cease surveillance of people who hold independent political positions or/and expressing independent opinions, and remove all forms of restrictions on their freedom of movement.

We believe that the existence of political prisoners does not help China to build its image of a responsible world power. Ending political imprisonment is an important benchmark for China to move toward a civilized political system.

China faces complex problems, and reform is a difficult endeavor that requires all the effort from all the people.

The BBC reports that signatures added since Tuesday have brought the total to almost 300.

Any hope that the new Party leadership might be receptive to these requests will be dampened by news that Norwegians, alone in Europe, will be ineligible for Beijing’s new 72-hour visa waiver scheme. Their exclusion appears to be an extension of the feud against Norway that began with the announcement of Liu’s award. According to The Financial Times, a travel administration official declined to confirm this suspicion, but said that “some countries were not eligible because their citizens or government were ‘of low-quality’ and ‘badly behaved’.”

The state-owned Global Times accused the 134 Nobel laureates of ignoring China’s progress and—despite the presence on the list of figures such as the Dalai Lama—of opposing “non-Western” ideologies.

In recent years, the choice of the Nobel Peace Prize winners, from US President Barack Obama in 2009 to this year’s pick of the European Union, has increasingly made the public scratch its head. Certainly, the decision to award the prize to dissident Liu Xiaobo infuriated Chinese society.

It seems that the Nobel Committee has missed the real focus of the world, and consequently has seen its influence dwindling.

Among these 134 members, we wonder how many of them have first-hand experience of China, let alone are aware of the changes that have taken place in terms of China’s political freedom in recent years.

By speaking with one voice, the 134 Nobel laureates have only demonstrated their firm opposition to non-Western ideologies. In their eyes, a few dissidents speak for all of China. A sense of moral superiority still persists among Western elites and their followers.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei also condemned the letter. From the BBC:

“China is a law-abiding country. Liu Xiaobo was lawfully sentenced to a fixed-term imprisonment by the judicial organ because he committed an offence against Chinese law,” he said.

“The Chinese government opposes outsiders handling matters in any way that would interfere in its judicial sovereignty and internal matters.”

On the other hand, he congratulated Mo Yan, who he said “loves his country and people”.

In fact, Mo Yan also expressed his hope for Liu Xiaobo’s release after being named the 2012 Literature Prize winner in October. His public support surprised critics who had accused him of being a government puppet. But Tom Hancock wrote at the AFP that Mo is unlikely to mention Liu again while in Sweden to receive his prize:

Mo Yan has long trodden a fine line between criticising China’s political establishment and cooperating with it, said Ma Xiangwu, a literature professor at the People’s University in Beijing.

“For a long time Mo has occupied a position within the system, but not totally within it,” he said. “His works are often very critical of society and politics — he’s too complex to be put in a box.”

In keeping with that, he said there was “absolutely no chance” Mo would refer to Liu in his Nobel lecture.

“He won’t mention sensitive issues during his speech. I think he will be quite moderate. I don’t think he will directly criticise the government… but I also don’t expect he will heap extravagant praise on China,” he added.

Sure enough, Mo told a press conference in Stockholm on Thursday that “I have already issued my opinion about this matter”, and that his prize is for literature, not politics. Chinese media, meanwhile, have preferred to focus on whether Mo will wear a tuxedo or a Mao suit to next week’s ceremony, or one of the three other outfits he is said to have taken with him when he left on Wednesday.

See also ‘You Wait for Me with Dust‘, a poem from Liu Xiaobo to Liu Xia (via Tania Branigan), and more on Liu Xiaobo, Liu Xia, Mo Yan and the Nobel Prizes at CDT.

© Samuel Wade for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Barack Obama, Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu, european union, He Weifang, house arrest, Hu Jia, illegal detention, liu xia, Liu Xiaobo, mo yan, Nobel Peace Prize, Nobel Prize, norway, pu zhiqiang, Xi Jinping
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The “blanket prohibition” on meeting the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader – imposed by the Prime Minister’s team during crisis talks over Eurozone countries at a meeting of G20 countries – prompted a fierce backlash from ministers.

The ministers – Tim Loughton and Norman Baker – were barred from attending a private lunch with the Tibetan spiritual leader in the apartment of the House of Commons Speaker John Bercow minutes before it was due to start.

[…] Mr Loughton told the programme that he and Mr Baker had originally been cleared to meet the Dalai Lama on his visit to the UK between 14 and 23 June this year.

[…] The pair said they felt British policy over China was “tantamount to saying that British foreign policy on Tibet is whatever China wants it to be.["]

The Dalai Lama was at least allowed onto British soil. He was also due to visit Taiwan this month, but was refused a visa on the grounds that, as a foreign ministry spokesman told the AFP, “it’s just not a good time”. Meanwhile, a South African court ruled last week that the country’s government had acted unlawfully in effectively blocking his visit for Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s 80th birthday in 2011. From the BBC:

The Supreme Court of Appeal said the former home affairs minister had “unreasonably delayed her decision”.

The government denied it had bowed to pressure from China to block the trip.

In response to the ruling, Archbishop Tutu’s office said it as a “credit to South Africa’s judicial system” and he looked forward to inviting the Dalai Lama to South Africa for his 90th birthday.

Dispatches also examined the lobbying efforts in Britain of beleaguered Chinese telecom giant Huawei, which has spent over £90,000 over the last two years on travel for MPs and donations to political parties. Former defence and foreign secretary Malcolm Rifkind is currently leading a parliamentary review into the company’s presence in the U.K., and is due to submit his final report before Christmas.

© Samuel Wade for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Dalai Lama, David Cameron, Desmond Tutu, documentaries, huawei, South Africa, Taiwan, Tibet, United Kingdom, videos
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The Dalai Lama has slammed censorship in China as “immoral”, following accusations that the Chinese government blocked him from traveling to South Africa to celebrate Desmond Tutu’s 80th birthday.

The Tibetan spiritual leader spoke with Tutu on Saturday, answering questions via a video link, instead of attending an event to honour the South African anti-apartheid activist a day after his birthday ….

The Dalai Lama told Tutu when asked why the Chinese feared him that “some Chinese officials describe me as a demon so naturally some fear about the demon.”

He said hypocrisy and telling lies had unfortunately become part of life in “the communist totalitarian system” and people who spoke truthfully and honestly sparked discomfort.

The Telegraph also reports that the Dalai Lama urged China to put its judicial system up to international standards:

China clearly had the potential to take “a constructive role” in the world, said the Dalai Lama.

“Respect, trust from the rest of the world is very necessary. For that reason, transparency is very essential,” he added.

See also Dalai Lama Cancels Highly Charged South Africa Trip and Two More Self Immolations Near Kirti Monastery One Possibly Fatal, via CDT.

© Melissa M. Chan for China Digital Times (CDT), 2011. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu, South Africa, Tibet
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The two former monks, 18-year-old Thongan and 20-year-old Tenzin, set themselves on fire in Aba county in Sichuan province’s Aba prefecture Friday, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.

Xinhua cited an Aba county spokesman as saying the monks were rescued and were being treated at a local hospital for non-life-threatening injuries ….

Overseas Tibet activist groups gave slightly different accounts of the self-immolations. The Washington, D.C.-based International Campaign for Tibet said the two men were named Choephel, 19, and Kayang, 18, and that they clasped their hands together as they set themselves alight.

It and the London-based Free Tibet group said there were unconfirmed reports that Choephel died at the site.

The Guardian notes yet more confusion in accounts of the incident, as well as the relative novelty of this form of protest among Tibetans:

The public security bureau in Aba denied any knowledge of an incident. “Nothing like that happened here. I am not aware of the situation,” a spokeswoman told Reuters, despite claims that police officers had helped extinguish the flames and beaten the men as they took them to hospital.

Until 2009 experts knew of only one Tibetan self-immolation, by a lay person living overseas. But today’s death was the second at Kirti within a week – another monk set fire to himself on Monday – and the seventh in Sichuan within two and a half years. “This is a new development … We are all struggling for the right words to characterise what is happening,” said Kate Saunders of the International Campaign for Tibet.

In South Africa, meanwhile, controversy continues over the Dalai Lama’s absence from Desmond Tutu’s 80th birthday celebrations due to a visa “hiccup”. From The Guardian:

The South African government’s failure to grant an entry visa to the Dalai Lama has cast a pall over Tutu’s birthday week, with the archbishop denouncing the governing African National Congress (ANC) as worse than the apartheid regime, and warning that he would pray for its defeat ….

The ANC has denied giving in to Chinese pressure over the Dalai Lama’s visa, claiming it is still being processed and calling on Tutu to “calm down”. When asked if the Dalai Lama would be granted a visa, Motlanthe reportedly said: “I don’t see why it should be an issue at all ….”

The Dalai Lama is set to deliver a peace lecture via videolink on Saturday. His absence in Cape Town will be symbolised by an empty chair.

© Samuel Wade for China Digital Times (CDT), 2011. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu, Kirti monastery, self-immolations, Sichuan, South Africa, suicide, Tibet
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Several Nobel peace prize laureates have threatened to boycott a conference in South Africa after Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, was denied a visa.

He was to join Nobel Peace Prize winners Desmond Tutu, Martti Ahtisaari and FW de Klerk, as well as Norway’s Nobel Peace Committee, at the conference scheduled for March 27th.

[...]South Africa’s Sunday Independent said his visa was refused due to pressure from the Chinese government. Embassy officials were not immediately available for comment. China has been on a major investment drive in Africa and is an important trade partner.

The Sunday Independent article mentioned above has more:

“If His Holiness’s visa is refused, then I won’t take part in the coming 2010 World Cup-related peace conference. I will condemn government’s behaviour as disgraceful, in line with our country’s abysmal record at the United Nations Security Council, a total betrayal of our struggle history,” [said Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu in a letter to South African president President Kgalema Motlanthe].

“We are shamelessly succumbing to Chinese pressure; I feel deeply distressed and ashamed,” he said.

[...]Over the past two years, South Africa has been China’s key trade partner in Africa, accounting for 20.8 percent of China’s trade with Africa, while Chinese foreign direct investment in South Africa was about $6 billion (R60bn), and South Africa’s foreign direct investment in China came to $2bn (R20bn).

© dwang for China Digital Times (CDT), 2009. | Permalink | 4 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Africa investment, Africa relations, Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu, South Africa
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(...)
Read the rest of Video: China, Burma and Desmond Tutu (33 words)

© Xiao Qiang for China Digital Times (CDT), 2007. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Burma, Desmond Tutu, Olympics boycott
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