www.kaichenblog.blogspot.com

刘晓波 – 一个能承担个体责任的获奖者

人的伟大是从人对自身瑕疵的自省与个体责任的承担上体现的

（简评人们对刘获奖的反应）
Kai Chen Comment on Liu's Critics

陈凯 Kai Chen 10/9/2010

www.kaichenblog.blogspot.com

一个伟大的人往往愿意从他人身上去发现伟大的闪光。 一个渺小的人往往迷恋在从他人身上去发掘瑕疵。 一个伟大的人是有自省意愿、能力与勇气的人。 一个渺小的人是缺失自省意愿、能力与勇气的人。 一个伟大的人是一个努力达到灵、智、行、言完整一致的人。 一个渺小的人是一个灵、智、行、言毫无一致的支离破碎的人。 一个伟大的人并不去首先躲在人群中指手画脚地去嫉妒、挑剔他人，而是首先要求自己追求真实、追求自由幸福并勇于承担个体责任。 一个渺小的人则绞尽脑汁用各种方式（尤其是在群体认同的保护下与对个体他人过错的指责谩骂中）逃避真实、自由、幸福与个体责任。

从刘晓波获诺贝尔和平奖前后的中文系人们的言论评判中我不难看出伟大与渺小、存在与虚无、追求与逃避、自由与专制的博争。 大多数维护中国专制文化的卫道士们都是试图回避、逃避个体自由与责任的人。 一些能批判分析这种专制文化的人们也试图用“受害者情结”回避、逃避个体自由与责任。 那些苛求刘晓波的人们大都是被中国群体专制文化奴役的人们。 寻求所谓“完美”的代表人士与救星而从不反省自身“原弊”是这些人的典型特征。

大多数所谓的反共人士们都迷恋在揪群结伙、争权夺利、互踩互捧之中而从不以个体良知为准去做任何有实际意义的事情。 只有极少数的良知人士们在默默地用自身的言行去做那些有意义的事情： 杨逢时女士每一年以个体身份组织纪念六四的音乐会；王友琴女士一直不倦地用个体身份书写去暴露毛共在文革中的暴行；我本人也会用我个体身份去尽力保卫美国的自由价值 – 冲击毛像与“孔学堂”是我作为一个自由人应尽的、基良知理性的个体责任。 然而，大多数的中文系人们都迷恋着去建立什么“组织”、设立什么“头衔”、在人群中寻找什么“地位”与“他人的认同与承认”。 无价值、无信仰的“群体文化”使这些人们在没有他人相依相存的时候无所适从。

像我们每一个人一样，刘晓波并不是一个没有原弊的人。 刘晓波的伟大之处在于他的自省与对他个体责任的承担。 六四之际，刘晓波并没有像方励之或大多数的所谓天安门学生领袖们一样，首先想到的是逃离现场与他个体的人身安全。 他与极少数的几个六四参与者在最危险的时刻回到了天安门广场并因此被捕入狱。 这种对个体自由的追求与对相应而来的个体责任的承担赢得了我的尊敬。 胡佳、高智晟、陈光诚等勇敢的良知个体也因为他们对自身个体责任的承担赢得了我的尊敬。 林昭、遇罗克、魏京生等勇敢的良知个体也都是承担个体道德职责的典范。 但我完全可以断定： 如果你用负向的群体、专制文化心态去审视我所提到的这些良知个体，你都会发现他们无一不是有瑕疵、有原弊的、有能力限度的人。 然而，用这些人身上的不完美去否认他们的伟大之处，甚至用歇斯底里的病态疯狂地去编造谎言将他们作为敌人去打击只能说明这些病态攻击者们的渺小与无自知自省的专制群体心态。

基督的精神是建立在对人性的精辟与正确的解读上的： 每一个人都有“原弊”，都是不完美的和有局限性的存在。 但这个人生来的“原弊”绝不意味着人的绝望与无奈。 相反，人的对自身“原弊”的认知与自省使人成为“主动体”去追求个体自由并承担个体责任。 由此，人可以不断地在道德指南下向“人的伟大”行进。 希望由此取代了“被环境、文化背景、种族、出生等所限定而产生的无奈绝望感”。 人的自由基此成为可能。

对“不同与原弊”的不容忍往往导致对“专制与邪恶”的不得不容忍。 强权，地位与人对未知的恐惧感之所以成为中文系人们的共同病态追求与生存的基点就是因为中国专制文化对人性的歪解、曲解、病解。 一个不自省自身“原弊”的人是一个不可能追求真实、正义、自由与尊严的永远逃避个体责任的可怜虫。 至终，我要去问每一个中文系的人：

你到底是谁？ 你到底是什么？ 你到底在生命中想得到什么？ 你对你自身的自由，尊严与幸福究竟做过什么，有过什么个体的选择？ 你每一刻都在反省自身去追求真实吗？ 你想做一个伟大的人吗？

Liu Xiaobo and his wife Liu Xia in a photo taken in Beijing, Oct. 22, 2002.

陈凯博客： www.kaichenblog.blogspot.com

Nobel Winner Meets Wife

刘晓波转献奖给天安门死难者

2010-10-10

[size=18]Liu Xiaobo dedicates his prize to Tiananmen Square "martyrs."[/size]

AFP

HONG KONG—Imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo wept when told of his award and immediately dedicated it to the “lost souls” and “martyrs” of China's bloody 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown on pro-democracy protesters, according to his wife.

Liu Xia said in a Twitter message that she had been allowed by Chinese authorities to meet with her husband, now serving an 11-year sentence for subversion in a prison in the northeastern city of Jinzhou, Liaoning province, about 300 km (190 miles) from Beijing.

She said that prison officials told Liu Xiaobo he had won the Nobel prize a day after the announcement was made by the Nobel Peace Prize Committee in Oslo on Oct. 8.

Liu Xiaobo then said, “This award is for the lost souls of June Fourth,” referring to the hundreds who died in the June 4, 1989 Chinese military crackdown at Tiananmen Square in Beijing, Liu Xia told the U.S.-based group Human Rights in China.

Another U.S.-based group, Freedom Now, quoted her as saying her husband dedicated the award “for the Tiananmen martyrs.”

Unable to speak with friends and media or use her cell phone, Liu Xia confirmed via a Twitter message on the night of Oct. 10 that she had met with her husband.

The message said, “I saw Xiaobo. Prison officials had told him on the evening of 9th the news that he had won the award.”

Liu Xia said she was currently under virtual house arrest in her Beijing apartment, as authorities sought to control information about her dissident husband, whom Beijing considers a “criminal.”

Wife under surveillance

Liu Xia’s whereabouts were unknown for two days, as she disappeared into police custody hours after the Nobel Committee announced the award.

She had told the international media earlier that police were arranging to take her to visit Liu Xiaobo.

In her Twitter message on Sunday, Liu Xia also said “Brothers, I’m back. On the 8th I was put under soft detention, and I don’t know when I’ll be able to see everybody. My cell phone has been interfered with and I don’t have any way to make or receive calls."

When RFA’s reporter called Liu Xia’s cell phone Oct. 10, a recording said the phone had been switched off.

Police were seen blocking the entrance to the apartment compound in Beijing, and had also put up a roadblock outside the Jinzhou prison on Saturday.

According to one of Liu Xiaobo’s lawyers at the Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Hong Kong, Liu Xia and her brother travelled to Jinzhou on the evening of Oct. 8 under police escort and arrived on Oct. 9.

He said he believed that Liu Xiaobo was taken out of the prison on Saturday and met with Liu Xia and her brother in an undisclosed location on the morning of Oct. 10. The lawyer’s statement could not be confirmed.

He also speculated that Liu Xiaobo might be transferred to Qincheng prison near Beijing, a maximum-security prison run by the Ministry of Public Security whose inmates have been mostly high-profile political prisoners.

Prison rules allow one family visit per month. In Liu Xia’s last visit to her husband in September, she was prevented from telling him that he was nominated for the award.

Liu’s award has enraged the Chinese government, which slammed it as a violation of Nobel ideals and a discredit to the Peace Prize.

Leaders around the world including U.S. President Barack Obama—last year's Nobel Peace Prize winner—lauded the 2010 winner and called on Beijing to release him immediately.

News blackout

The Chinese propaganda ministry has issued an order forbidding Chinese media reporting on the award, according to the press freedoms group Reporters Without Borders.

Since Oct. 8, Internet searches on Chinese websites for the terms “Nobel Peace Prize” and “Liu Xiaobo” have returned errors and blank messages.

Authorities in different cities have also restricted celebrations over the award as Chinese authorities stepped up pressure on activists and Liu's supporters.

The son of Beijing-based activist Wang Lihong said police told him Wang was being detained for eight days after taking part in a brief demonstration Friday at a park following the news that Liu had been awarded the peace prize, AP reported.

Some of China's most prominent activist lawyers said Saturday they were being harassed by police as they took advantage of the Nobel Prize to try to reconcile differences among themselves, the report said.

Lawyers Pu Zhiqiang, Jiang Tianyong and others said they were not allowed to leave their homes.

Reported by Xin Yu for RFA's Mandarin service. Written in English with additional reporting by Rachel Vandenbrink.

Copyright © 1998-2010 Radio Free Asia. All rights reserved

From Kai Chen 陈凯简应:

There is no need to respond to this message. I hope my article about Liu is clear enough on my position. Individuals have to take their personal responsibility on things they did and things they said. Best to all.

如人们读了我关于刘获奖的短文，就会懂得我的基点立场 - 个体自由与个体责任。 邪恶在中国与世界的猖獗就在于人们回避、逃避个体自由与个体责任。 脱离这个基点，任何言论与行为都是无意义的。

回应陈凯兼谈刘获奖

Some Responses to My Support of Liu

陈凯兄：

http://www.youpai.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=5760 （反刘获奖的签署信）

作为你的朋友，我必须直言。我觉得你在这个时候发出这封半年多前的信，很不合适。我不知道你要表达什么？是要“秋后算帐”呢？还是你认同我们的观点，刘不是最合适的获奖人选呢？你我都在西方生活很久了。我很惊讶你会做出这样的事来。

在西方自由社会，人们针对任何问题表达不同的观点，是再正常不过了。我记得我在哥大上学的时候，同学们在讨论一个美国人参与塔利班政权与美军作战，而被俘 关押。即便是这样一件对错看来再明显不过的事，也有人认为他做的是对的，不应该受到惩处和酷刑。我当时惊讶得合不拢嘴。但是，我看见其他美国同学都表现得 很淡定，见怪不怪。我顿时感到我毕竟是专制国家成长起来的，对不同的意见，尤其是认为很荒谬的不同意见（其实自己认为荒谬不见得就荒谬，甚至也不见得 错），往往会表现出义愤填膺。而在民主国家，人们早已习惯于各种奇谈怪论。我们只需要看看好莱坞的电影题材是多么稀奇古怪，就明白了美国和其他专制国家的 区别所在，其魅力所在。

半年多前，在人们谈论刘晓波与诺贝尔奖时，我们表达了他不是最佳人选的观点，就如同人们在总统竞选前，谈论奥巴马是否是最佳总统人选一样，再正常不过了。 事实上，即便是今天，你似乎仍在不时批评奥巴马。那些推崇奥巴马的美国人似乎并没有象你一样，反应如此激烈。他们很清楚，你是右派，亲共和党人士，当然就 反对民主党人奥巴马了。而你居然对我们几个人半年多前发表的不支持刘获奖的言论如此耿耿于怀，需要检讨的是你自己。如果你表示不理解我们为什么会这样做。 除了这封信上所叙述的理由外，我们还有一个更重要的原因在信里并不合适说，那就是我们是“激进派”（他们给我们起的名字，应该叫不合作派，据我所知，你也是不合作派），而刘是温和派 领军人物（或者叫合作派）。我们虽然都被称为民运，但其实是完全不同的一回事。这就象当年的孙黄和康梁，表明上看都是反清，其实不是一回事----孙黄是 反对满清封建王朝，意欲建立民主共和，而康梁是只反慈禧，并不反满清王朝（他们是要扶光绪上台推行君主立宪）。后来，在孙黄与康梁进行了一场旷日日久的大 辩论后，才让海外华人弄清楚该支持谁。这里我们先姑且不论我们主张的变革或革命对，还是刘晓波们主张的改良合作对，但仅就这个问题进行争辩，各自发表自己 的观点，各自支持与自己观点接近的人，这应该不仅属于言论自由的范畴，而且一点也不荒谬。你说对吗？

你过去一贯反对造神运动，如今我看你也开始参加造神运动了。难道刘晓波就是不能反对的？难道仅仅是半年前发表对刘晓波不同的看法，就应该被穷追猛打？我现 在非常担心，如果刘晓波哪天当了”真命天子“，那还了得。谁敢对他的品行和做法有半句微词，恐怕遭到的围攻不会亚于文革对刘少奇的文功武斗。我甚至担心都 不需要刘晓波象当年毛泽东那样写一张”炮打司令部“来发动群众批斗刘少奇，一些象你这样的人就会自动站出来，”义正词严“的对不认同刘晓波做法的人展开声 讨了。这几天发生的事情，让我突然对中国未来的自由民主运动产生了一种从未有过的悲观。因为清晰如你的人，也会对不同言论抱持如此强烈的”报复“心态，我 们又怎么能寄希望与生活在专制文化下的普通民众能对不同的言论泰然处之呢？如果你们要将任何政治人物再造成一个神，我在此声明：我会是第一个站出来反对造 神运动和将你们所造的“神”从神坛上拉下来的人。这是我一生的使命。我们好不容易快要将毛泽东、周恩来等中共造的诸神拉下来的，我不希望看到另一个政治人 物又被塑造成神----不能批评和反对的人。

关于刘晓波获奖其后发生的事，我的个人观点已经清楚地在不同的场合反复表达。在这里我再重申一遍：

一，在刘获奖前，任何关心此奖的异议人士不仅有权，也应该表达自己对谁应该获奖的看法。这样才能让诺奖委员会基于更全面的资讯做出更准确的决定。中国反对 派运动过去有至少五人被提名并成为热门人选。我们基于事实发表自己的观点，支持谁不支持谁，这再天经地义不过了，无需大惊小怪，更不必“秋后算帐”。我们不能保证我们的观点正确，我们只需要 对我们提供的事实负责。任何人对这种非常平常的言论和与自己不同的观点进行猛烈抨击，都属于不理解什么叫真正的言论自由和言论自由的重要性。

二，在诺奖委员会作出决定将诺奖颁给刘晓波的时刻，我认为所有的中国异议人士都应该暂时停止对刘的负面评论，并对他获奖表示欢迎和高兴。因 为他毕竟是中国异议人士（如果他本人和诺贝尔委员会连这一点都否认，那我就态度不同了。他曾经提出非政治化，而且他的最信任的同事余杰等曾在排斥郭飞雄时 说郭跟民运走得太近，言下之意他们不仅不是民运，而且还暗含贬低民运之意。所以我不能将他称为民运人士，因为民运就是政治。这个问题我们将来有的是时间讨 论，暂且不表）。诺贝尔奖委员会也说得非常明确：这个奖是用来嘉奖那些长期为中国自由与人权奋斗的人们，同时希望以此鼓励更多的人投身到这场运动中来。而 我们也是中国异议人士，也是这场争人权争民主的运动的一分子，我们没有理由不表示欢迎和高兴。至于刘是否是我最心仪的人选，这个时候已经变 得不那么重要了。因 为刘也罢，高也罢，胡也罢，不过是个名字和符号，一个中国反对派运动人士的名字和象征。我们应该清楚，这次国际社会为诺奖这次的选择感到高兴，不是为给刘 颁奖感到高兴，而是为给中国异议人士颁奖而高兴。在此之前，绝大多数人并不知道刘是谁，事后也没有多少人有兴趣知道刘的个人事迹，刘跟我们中间许多人并没 有很大的区别，也不是我们的领袖（这一点跟达赖喇嘛、曼德拉和昂山素姬等是不同的），他们只需要知道刘是中国异 议人士之一，是从天安门民主运动坚持下来的就行了。因此我 个人认为，在刘刚获奖和人们为他庆祝的时刻，发表对他的批评不合时宜，也收不到预想的效果。这就象体育比赛结束后，一方胜出时，没有胜的其他方都应该去象 对方表示祝贺并拥抱。毕竟这场比赛结束了，结果已无法改变。一个有风度的运动员就应该表现出这样的大将风度。古人云：胜败乃兵家常事。这次输了，下次还可 以再来嘛。历史还在继续。真正有志气的运动员，只会更加苦练，希望下次能赢对方，而不是在某场比赛胜负已决后，仍然唠唠叨叨，说裁判不公，或为自己的失败寻找各种理由。因此，我在刘获奖后接受记者采访和在推特上发言时，都是反复强调，我们应该欢迎诺奖将此殊荣给予中国反对派人士，并利用这一千载难逢的机会对中共发动更猛烈的攻击，揭露他们的残暴和邪恶本质（我在接受美国国家评论杂志采访时就提到了中国人权状况在倒退而不是进步）。

三，即便今天刘获得了诺奖，我仍然保留我的看法，如果要我在刘和高智晟、胡佳之间做出选择，我更倾向于后者。我曾在接受美国评论杂志采访时委婉地表示，如果高智晟、胡佳和刘晓波三位都在受到中共严酷迫害的热门人选同时获奖（jointly），我会更高兴。他们也很认同我的这看法。等 过了这段时间庆祝活动告一段落后，我还会更进一步地讲述我的理由。而且我相信未来还会有更多新的资料被披露出来。比如，昨天我看到一份材料说，刘在坐牢期 间，仍然在领高新（两万多美元年薪加其他福利），而且是美国的机构。这让我对他的“崇高”和“奉献”又大大地打了折扣。我这样说，是否也犯了冒犯“刘领 袖”和“刘领袖”的粉丝（过去叫追谁者）的大忌呢？我现在有一种快要窒息的感觉，我发现我只要发表对刘晓波不利的任何言论，好像就会被“文革”一次的感 觉。可怕呀，中国人的个人崇拜和喜欢围观凑热闹的丑陋一面，在这几天又得到了充分表现。我们每一个人都应该在这件事情过去后好好反省自己。

四，现在对我们最重要的，既不是继续讨论刘是否应该得奖，包括支持的和反对的，都应该适可而止；而是如何利用这次机会对中共展开绝地大反击，向国际社会揭 露中共的暴行，壮大民主力量，将中国人权民主运动推向一个新的阶段。刘晓波获奖应该成为我们推动民主运动的一个动力和契机，而不是我们的目标。令人遗憾的 是，在刘晓波得奖后，民运整体基本上停止了对中国改善人权的呼吁和对中共暴行的揭露，人们看到的更多的“小人”得志般的失态。我看见有些刘的旧党在刘得奖 后 手舞足蹈狂饮烂醉的丑态，好象在庆祝刘晓波坐牢。他们忘记了刘和其他千千万万同胞还在坐牢，还在为了捍卫自己的家园准备自焚以表示最强烈的控诉。我真怀疑 他们是否真的如外界传言，是将刘晓波坐牢当成了在对诺贝尔奖压宝，而今天这个宝压对了，因此刘晓波坐牢也就无所谓了。这样的人，就算压中了十个宝，也是一 群活宝。

陈凯兄，你我都 是真性情的人。希望我的这番话不会冒犯你，让你动怒。这不是我的本意。我们在这个问题上的不同看法并不妨碍我对你在其他更多问题上的认同和支持，也丝毫不 影响我对你追求真理的勇气的敬佩。我希望听到你的毫不留情的回应----只要是讲理，我一概欢迎。真理越辩越明嘛。

柏桥
(注：能否请你转发此信给你的maillist，我的电邮每天只限一百封电邮，谢谢。）
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www.kaichenblog.blogspot.com

[size=24]刘晓波 – 一个能承担个体责任的获奖者[/size]

[size=18]人的伟大是从人对自身瑕疵的自省与个体责任的承担上体现的[/size]

[size=16]（简评人们对刘获奖的反应）
Kai Chen Comment on Liu's Critics[/size]

陈凯 Kai Chen 10/9/2010

www.kaichenblog.blogspot.com

一个伟大的人往往愿意从他人身上去发现伟大的闪光。 一个渺小的人往往迷恋在从他人身上去发掘瑕疵。 一个伟大的人是有自省意愿、能力与勇气的人。 一个渺小的人是缺失自省意愿、能力与勇气的人。 一个伟大的人是一个努力达到灵、智、行、言完整一致的人。 一个渺小的人是一个灵、智、行、言毫无一致的支离破碎的人。 一个伟大的人并不去首先躲在人群中指手画脚地去嫉妒、挑剔他人，而是首先要求自己追求真实、追求自由幸福并勇于承担个体责任。 一个渺小的人则绞尽脑汁用各种方式（尤其是在群体认同的保护下与对个体他人过错的指责谩骂中）逃避真实、自由、幸福与个体责任。

从刘晓波获诺贝尔和平奖前后的中文系人们的言论评判中我不难看出伟大与渺小、存在与虚无、追求与逃避、自由与专制的博争。 大多数维护中国专制文化的卫道士们都是试图回避、逃避个体自由与责任的人。 一些能批判分析这种专制文化的人们也试图用“受害者情结”回避、逃避个体自由与责任。 那些苛求刘晓波的人们大都是被中国群体专制文化奴役的人们。 寻求所谓“完美”的代表人士与救星而从不反省自身“原弊”是这些人的典型特征。

大多数所谓的反共人士们都迷恋在揪群结伙、争权夺利、互踩互捧之中而从不以个体良知为准去做任何有实际意义的事情。 只有极少数的良知人士们在默默地用自身的言行去做那些有意义的事情： 杨逢时女士每一年以个体身份组织纪念六四的音乐会；王友琴女士一直不倦地用个体身份书写去暴露毛共在文革中的暴行；我本人也会用我个体身份去尽力保卫美国的自由价值 – 冲击毛像与“孔学堂”是我作为一个自由人应尽的、基良知理性的个体责任。 然而，大多数的中文系人们都迷恋着去建立什么“组织”、设立什么“头衔”、在人群中寻找什么“地位”与“他人的认同与承认”。 无价值、无信仰的“群体文化”使这些人们在没有他人相依相存的时候无所适从。

像我们每一个人一样，刘晓波并不是一个没有原弊的人。 刘晓波的伟大之处在于他的自省与对他个体责任的承担。 六四之际，刘晓波并没有像方励之或大多数的所谓天安门学生领袖们一样，首先想到的是逃离现场与他个体的人身安全。 他与极少数的几个六四参与者在最危险的时刻回到了天安门广场并因此被捕入狱。 这种对个体自由的追求与对相应而来的个体责任的承担赢得了我的尊敬。 胡佳、高智晟、陈光诚等勇敢的良知个体也因为他们对自身个体责任的承担赢得了我的尊敬。 林昭、遇罗克、魏京生等勇敢的良知个体也都是承担个体道德职责的典范。 但我完全可以断定： 如果你用负向的群体、专制文化心态去审视我所提到的这些良知个体，你都会发现他们无一不是有瑕疵、有原弊的、有能力限度的人。 然而，用这些人身上的不完美去否认他们的伟大之处，甚至用歇斯底里的病态疯狂地去编造谎言将他们作为敌人去打击只能说明这些病态攻击者们的渺小与无自知自省的专制群体心态。

基督的精神是建立在对人性的精辟与正确的解读上的： 每一个人都有“原弊”，都是不完美的和有局限性的存在。 但这个人生来的“原弊”绝不意味着人的绝望与无奈。 相反，人的对自身“原弊”的认知与自省使人成为“主动体”去追求个体自由并承担个体责任。 由此，人可以不断地在道德指南下向“人的伟大”行进。 希望由此取代了“被环境、文化背景、种族、出生等所限定而产生的无奈绝望感”。 人的自由基此成为可能。

对“不同与原弊”的不容忍往往导致对“专制与邪恶”的不得不容忍。 强权，地位与人对未知的恐惧感之所以成为中文系人们的共同病态追求与生存的基点就是因为中国专制文化对人性的歪解、曲解、病解。 一个不自省自身“原弊”的人是一个不可能追求真实、正义、自由与尊严的永远逃避个体责任的可怜虫。 至终，我要去问每一个中文系的人：

你到底是谁？ 你到底是什么？ 你到底在生命中想得到什么？ 你对你自身的自由，尊严与幸福究竟做过什么，有过什么个体的选择？ 你每一刻都在反省自身去追求真实吗？ 你想做一个伟大的人吗？

China livid as dissident Liu wins Nobel Peace Prize

中共的震怒与难解



www.kaichenblog.blogspot.com

Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo smokes a cigarette in this undated photo released by his family. Jailed Chinese pro-democracy activist Liu won the Nobel Peace Prize on October 8, 2010, an announcement that Beijing had anticipated and bitterly criticised.

By Wojciech Moskwa and Ben Blanchard

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE69...08?pageNumber=1

OSLO/BEIJING | Fri Oct 8, 2010 4:29pm EDT

(Reuters) - Jailed Chinese democracy activist Liu Xiaobo won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for two decades of non-violent struggle for human rights, infuriating China, which called the award "an obscenity".

The prize shines a spotlight on human rights in China at a time when it is starting to play a leading role on the global stage as a result of its growing economic might.

"We have to speak when others cannot speak," Norwegian Nobel Committee chairman Thorbjoern Jagland told Reuters. "As China is rising, we should have the right to criticize."

The award drew muted reactions from the European Union, France, Germany and Britain.

But last year's winner, U.S. President Barack Obama, accused China of falling behind on political reforms as its economy surges, and urged it to free Liu Xiaobo as soon as possible.

Liu Xiaobo rose to prominence as a strike leader during the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests in 1989.

He was sentenced to 11 years' jail last December for writing a manifesto calling for free speech and multi-party elections.

The Nobel Committee praised him for his "long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights" and reiterated its belief in a "close connection between human rights and peace".

"OBSCENITY"

China, which had warned against giving the prize to Liu, summoned Norway's ambassador to protest.

"This is an obscenity against the peace prize," Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said in a statement.

"(Liu's) actions are diametrically opposed to the aims of the Nobel prize. Nobel's behest was that the Nobel Peace Prize be awarded to somebody who promoted peace between peoples, promoted international friendship and disarmament."

Beijing residents reported that CNN and BBC broadcasts were cut when the prize was mentioned.

Activists say human rights have dropped down the agenda of Western powers wary of upsetting China, now the world's second largest economy.

Britain, France, Germany and the European Union all congratulated Liu, saying they had lobbied for his release from prison, but were careful to avoid direct criticism of China.

Obama was more pointed.

He said China had made dramatic progress in fighting poverty, but that "this award reminds us that political reform has not kept pace, and that the basic human rights of every man, woman and child must be respected".

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the award of the prize to Liu underscored growing concern around the world about human rights and he hoped any disagreement over the decision would not damage the global rights cause.

In a carefully worded statement, Ban also praised China, which he said "has achieved remarkable economic advances, lifted millions out of poverty, broadened political participation and steadily joined the international mainstream in its adherence to recognized human rights instruments and practices."

Jagland told Reuters: "It would have been very damaging for the Committee if one could say: 'No, we do not dare to give the prize to someone from this big economic and political power'."

The Dalai Lama, whose receipt of the Peace Prize in 1989 similarly angered China, said the prize highlighted "the international community's recognition of the increasing voices among the Chinese people" pushing for reforms.

"INNOCENT"

Liu's wife Liu Xia told Reuters: "His friends repeatedly told me that they thirsted for Liu Xiaobo to win the prize more than he himself did because they think it would be an opportunity to change China ...

"Xiaobo is innocent. The constitution guarantees freedom of speech. They (the authorities) broke the law first."

Outside the couple's apartment in western Beijing, there was a heavy police presence on Friday.

Liu Xia said the police were taking her to Liu Xiaobo's prison in Jinzhou, in northeastern China, in an apparent effort to prevent foreign reporters speaking to her.

"They are forcing me to leave Beijing," she said as her brothers packed her bags, with plainclothes officers waiting for her outside.

Liu Xiaobo, a former literature professor, was jailed last December for subversion of state power. He had been arrested as lead author of Charter 08, a manifesto by intellectuals and activists calling for democratic reform in the one-party state.

In 1989, Liu was pilloried by China as one of the "black hands" who fomented the Tiananmen protests, although he was among a group of intellectuals who tried to defuse the standoff before it ended with army shootings that killed hundreds of students and residents.

A 20-month jail sentence followed, and he also spent three years in a "labor re-education" camp in the 1990s.

Passers-by outside the block did not appear impressed by China's new high-profile dissident.

"The Western world's choice is different from ours," said one man, who asked not to be identified. "It does not mean that people receiving the award have contributed to the peace process."

The prize is worth 10 million Swedish crowns ($1.5 million) and will be awarded in Oslo on December 10. It was not clear who would collect the prize if Liu could not.

'A Turning Point in the Long Struggle':

林培瑞：刘获诺奖是一个重要转折

陈凯一语：

刘晓波获诺奖打破了几十年来西方政界对中共党朝的一贯绥靖态度。 这一举动告知了世界所有的人们中共党朝的路是邪恶的反人类之路；一个党朝在物质上的强大只能是一个对世界良知人们自由的严重威胁。 我对刘获诺奖感到欣慰与鼓舞，因为它不光是对中共党朝的打击，也是对所有反人反自由的专制文化的打击。

Kai Chen's Words:

Liu Xiaobo's winning Nobel Peace Prize breaks the mode of Western "appeasement" attitude toward China since the 1980s. It is an indictment of "China Model of Development". It tells people in the world that China Model is anti-human and anti-freedom. It tells people in the world a despotic party-state with economic and military power can only pose as a mortal threat to peace in the world. I applaud the decision by Nobel Peace Prize Committee to have awarded this symbolic prize to Mr. Liu Xiaobo, for it is not only a rejection of China's communist party-state, it is a rejection of a despotic anti-human and anti-freedom culture.

Chinese Citizens Defend Liu Xiaobo

Perry Link


Liu Xiaobo and Liu Xia, Beijing, October 22, 2002

It would be hard to overstate how much the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Liu Xiaobo on October 8 has meant to China’s community of dissidents, bloggers, and activists. Not only has it lifted their spirits tremendously; many also view it as a possible turning point in the long struggle to bring democracy and human rights to their country. Their ebullience seems unaffected by the hostile reaction of the Chinese government, which has called the Nobel Committee’s decision “obscene” and an “insult to China.” Chinese authorities have spread the message in China’s state-run media that Liu Xiaobo is a criminal serving time in prison, but without quoting even a small sample of the words or ideas that have caused him to be there; and they have escalated their harassment of Liu’s friends and colleagues.

On October 14, one hundred and nine of those friends and colleagues released on the Internet the open letter that follows. The signers include Zhang Zuhua, Wen Kejian, Wang Debang, and others who worked with Liu Xiaobo on Charter 08, the citizens’ pro-democracy statement that became the main reason for Liu Xiaobo’s 11-year prison term. The co-signers include many other distinguished figures: rights lawyers Pu Zhiqiang and Teng Biao; Dai Qing , the journalist and environmental activist; the novelist and democracy theorist Wang Lixiong; the Tibetan poet Woeser; veteran publisher Yu Haocheng; film scholar (and translator of Vaclav Havel into Chinese) Cui Weiping; senior academicians in the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Zi Zhongyun, Xu Youyu and Zhang Boshu. Co-signers came from all across China, including two each from Hong Kong and Taiwan.

After release of the letter, its organizers invited signatures from anyone in the world, and within days hundreds more had signed. Readers of this blog are welcome to sign, too, by writing to freexiaoboliu@gmail.com. An updated list of signers can be found at http://wexiaobo.org.

Meanwhile, the Chinese authorities continue to try to control how the story is perceived both at home and abroad. Liu Xia, who is Liu Xiaobo’s wife, is under house arrest without having been charged, which violates Chinese law and is bad press internationally for the regime. Her telephone and computer have been confiscated, but she managed to get this message out on October 16 by Twitter on a cell phone:

One of the policemen watching me said that it was his wife’s birthday and that he wanted to go shopping for her. But his orders were that he had to stay with me, so would I like to accompany him to the shopping mall? Sure, I thought, and went. When we got to the mall, I noticed all kinds of strange people photographing me from various angles. I realized it had all been a trick. The authorities wanted photographs to prove that Liu Xia is free and happily shopping at malls.

This shows, beyond the regime’s bald mendacity, that it cares about international opinion.

—Perry Link

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[size=24]On Liu Xiaobo and the Nobel Peace Prize: An Open Letter[/size]

The awarding of the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize to Liu Xiaobo, a Chinese citizen, has drawn strong reactions both inside and outside China. This is a major event in modern Chinese history. It offers the prospect of a significant new advance for Chinese society in its peaceful transition toward democracy and constitutional government. In a spirit of responsibility toward China’s history and future promise, we the undersigned wish to make these points:

1.The decision of the Nobel Committee to award this year’s prize to Liu Xiaobo is in full conformity with the principles of the prize and the criteria for its bestowal. In today’s world, peace is closely connected with human rights. Deprivation and devastation of life happen not only on battlefields in wars between nations; they also happen within single nations when tyrannical governments employ violence and abuse law. The praise that we have seen from around the world for the decision to award the prize to a representative of China’s human rights movement shows what a wise and timely decision it was.

2.Liu Xiaobo is a splendid choice for the Nobel Peace Prize. He has consistently advocated non-violence in his quest to protect human rights and has confronted social injustice by arguing from reason. He has persevered in pursuing the goals of democracy and constitutional government and has set aside anger even toward those who persecute him. These virtues put his qualifications for the prize beyond doubt, and his actions and convictions can, in addition, serve as models for others in how to resolve political and social conflict.

3.In the days since the announcement of his prize, leaders in many nations and major world organizations have called upon the Chinese authorities to release Liu Xiaobo. We agree. At the same time we call upon the authorities to release all political prisoners and prisoners of conscience who are in detention because of what they’ve said or written, their political views, or their religious beliefs. We ask that legal procedures aimed at freeing Liu Xiaobo be undertaken without delay, and that Liu and his wife be permitted to travel to Oslo to accept the Nobel Peace Prize on December 10.

4.Upon hearing the news of Liu Xiaobo’s prize, groups of citizens in several places in China gathered at restaurants to share their excitement over food and wine and to hold discussions, display banners, and distribute notices. Law-abiding and reasonable as these activities were, they met with harassment and repression from police. Some of the participants were interrogated, threatened, and escorted home; others were detained; still others, including Liu Xiaobo’s wife Liu Xia, have been placed under house arrest and held incommunicado. We call upon the police to cease these illegal actions immediately and to release the people who have been illegally detained.

5.We call upon the Chinese authorities to approach Liu Xiaobo’s Nobel Prize with realism and reason. They should take note of the responses to the prize inside and outside China and see in these responses the currents in world thinking as well as the underlying preferences of our fellow citizens. China should join the mainstream of civilized humanity by embracing universal values. Such is the only route to becoming a “great nation” that is capable of playing a positive and responsible role on the world stage. We are convinced that any positive steps taken by or sign of goodwill from the government and its leaders will be met with understanding and support from the Chinese people and will be effective in moving Chinese society in a peaceful direction.

6.We call upon the Chinese authorities to make good on their oft-repeated promise to reform the political system. In a recent series of speeches, Premier Wen Jiabao has intimated a strong desire to promote political reform. We are ready to engage actively in such an effort. We expect our government to uphold the constitution of The People’s Republic of China as well as the Charter of the United Nations and other international agreements to which it has subscribed. This will require it to guarantee the rights of Chinese citizens as they work to bring about a peaceful transition toward a society that will be, in fact and not just in name, a democracy and a nation of laws.

October 18, 2010 10:36 p.m.