Edward Wong and Ian Johnson at The New York Times report on a purported message from imprisoned Nobel Peace laureate Liu Xiaobo to Berlin-based writer Liao Yiwu. Liu, who was sentenced to 11 years in prison in 2009 for inciting subversion of state power, refers in the note to his famous pre-trial statement that “I have no enemies.”
The message said: “I am O.K. Here in prison, I have continually been able to read and think. In my studies, I have become even more convinced I have no personal enemies. The nimbus around me is shiny enough by now. I hope the world could pay more attention to other victims who are not well known, or not known at all!”
[…] “This is absolutely real,” Mr. Liao said. “It’s the first time I’ve received communication in all these years. I can’t say how I received it, but I know it is genuine. It is touching to hear this from him.” [Source]
In May, Reuters reported pressure within the Party for Liu to be offered parole. Even if such an offer were forthcoming, however, agreeing to conditions might prove impossible. In June, a U.S. congressional committee voted in favor of renaming the street outside the Chinese embassy in Washington in his honor. Meanwhile, Liu’s wife Liu Xia remains under an illegal house arrest now stretching into its fifth year, and Norway continues to suffer Beijing’s displeasure over the 2010 Nobel.
