China Nobel row: Prize 'not enforcing Western values' Skip to main content

China Nobel row: Prize 'not enforcing Western values'

Poster of Liu Xiaobo at Oslo ceremony venue The Nobel committee says the award is about universal human rights

Liu Xiaobo's Nobel Peace Prize

The award of the Nobel Peace Prize to an imprisoned Chinese dissident is not an attempt to enforce Western values on China, organisers say.
The award to Liu Xiaobo was about universal human rights and "honouring people in China", Nobel Committee chairman Thorbjoern Jagland said.
Beijing has said nations which attend Friday's award ceremony in Oslo will be showing disrespect to China.
At least 18 nations are set to boycott the ceremony.
Liu Xiaobo, 54, was a key leader in the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989.
Last year he received an 11-year sentence for "inciting subversion". The Nobel Foundation has praised Mr Liu for his "long and non-violent struggle".
'Strong symbol' After Thursday saw China stepped up its campaign to try to discredit the Nobel Committee, Mr Jagland insisted the award was "not a prize against China. This is a prize honouring people in China".
He said: "This is not a protest, it is a signal to China that it would be very important for China's future to combine economic development with political reforms and support for those in China fighting for basic human rights.
"This prize conveys the understanding that these are universal rights and universal values, they are not Western standards."

Countries boycotting Nobel ceremony

  • China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Kazakhstan
  • Russia, Serbia
  • Venezuela, Cuba
  • Tunisia, Morocco, Sudan
  • Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Egypt
  • Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka
Mr Jagland said all members of the United Nations had signed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and they had "certain obligations because of this".
He said Mr Liu's empty chair at the awards ceremony in the Norwegian capital on Friday would be "a very strong symbol [that] shows how appropriate this prize was".
It will be the first time since 1936 that the prize, now worth $1.5m, will not be handed out.
Burmese Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi has expressed solidarity with Mr Liu, saying that as one human being to another she would like to hold out a hand of sympathy.
UN human rights chief Navi Pillay on Thursday again called for Mr Liu to be released "as soon as possible".
China's foreign ministry called on countries to boycott the ceremony.
Spokeswoman Jiang Yu said: "We hope those countries that have received the invitation can tell right from wrong."
At least 18 nations are set to boycott the event. Ukraine, which had earlier declined an invitation, will now attend, the Nobel Committee said.
However, it is thought Algeria will not attend. The attendance of Argentina is also in doubt.
Amnesty International accused China of pressuring members of Norway's Chinese community to join protests on Friday against the awards ceremony.
'Clowns' China's foreign ministry insisted Mr Liu had not been convicted only for his calls for more democracy but had actively tried to subvert state power.
Earlier this week, Ms Jiang referred to the members of the Nobel committee as "clowns", and accused them of orchestrating an "anti-China fuss".
Separately in Beijing, a group of academics has awarded the first Confucius Peace Prize to Taiwan's former vice-president Lien Chan for brokering warmer ties between Beijing and Taipei.
The head of the prize jury, Tan Changliu, a professor at Beijing Normal University, said the award had planned for "a long time" and denied it was a stunt.
Meanwhile, the BBC website appears to have been blocked in China.
Users in several parts of the country have reported that they are unable to access the BBC's internet site and the BBC has noticed a steep drop in traffic from China.
It is the first time the BBC's English-language website has been blocked since the Beijing Olympics in 2008. Access to other international news sites such as CNN also appears to be blocked.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11961018
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Chronology of the Press in Burma

1836 – 1846 * During this period the first English-language newspaper was launched under British-ruled Tenasserim, southern  Burma . The first ethnic Karen-language and Burmese-language newspapers also appear in this period.     March 3, 1836 —The first English-language newspaper,  The Maulmain Chronicle , appears in the city of Moulmein in British-ruled Tenasserim. The paper, first published by a British official named E.A. Blundell, continued up until the 1950s. September 1842 —Tavoy’s  Hsa-tu-gaw  (the  Morning Star ), a monthly publication in the Karen-language of  Sgaw ,  is established by the Baptist mission. It is the first ethnic language newspaper. Circulation reached about three hundred until its publication ceased in 1849. January 1843 —The Baptist mission publishes a monthly newspaper, the Christian  Dhamma  Thadinsa  (the  Religious Herald ), in Moulmein. Supposedly the first Burmese-language newspaper, it continued up until the first year of the second Angl
Post a Comment
Read more

Thai penis whitening trend raises eyebrows

Image copyright LELUXHOSPITAL Image caption Authorities warn the procedure could be quite painful A supposed trend of penis whitening has captivated Thailand in recent days and left it asking if the country's beauty industry is taking things too far. Skin whitening is nothing new in many Asian countries, where darker skin is often associated with outdoor labour, therefore, being poorer. But even so, when a clip of a clinic's latest intriguing procedure was posted online, it quickly went viral. Thailand's health ministry has since issued a warning over the procedure. The BBC Thai service spoke to one patient who had undergone the treatment, who told them: "I wanted to feel more confident in my swimming briefs". The 30-year-old said his first session of several was two months ago, and he had since seen a definite change in the shade. 'What for?' The original Facebook post from the clinic offering the treatment, which uses lasers to break do
1 comment
Read more

Is 160 enough? One Indian man's family

By Sumnima Udas , CNN October 31, 2011 -- Updated 0857 GMT (1657 HKT) Ziona, center, with his has 39 wives, 86 children and 35 grandchildren in rural Baktwang village, India. STORY HIGHLIGHTS One man in India is the patriarch of a family of 160 in rural India Ziona, who only goes by his first name, has 39 wives, 86 children and 35 grandchildren. Ziona's father, Chana, founded the Christian sect in Baktwang that promotes polygamy "I never wanted to get married but that's the path God has chosen for me" Mizoram, India (CNN) -- The world's population hits 7 billion this week, but Ziona, the patriarch of what may be the biggest family in the world, is not bothered. "I don't care about overpopulation in India ... I believe God has chosen us to be like this (have big families). Those who are born into this family don't want to leave this tradition so we just keep growing and growing," he says with a smile. Ziona, who only goes by his f
Post a Comment
Read more