Free Liu Xiaobo now

Liu Xiaobo and his wife Liu Xia

The Nobel Peace Prize is the only one of the Five Nobel Prizes awarded by Norway and the committee has a history of making controversial decisions which have been vindicated by history. The prizes have been awarded to (amongst others) the Burmese Leader Aung San Suu Kyi (as far back as 1991), the 14th Dalai Lama (Tenzin Gyatso), and the Irishman Sean McBride who has the distinction of being the only recipient of both the Nobel and Lenin Peace Prizes.


If the Chinese government had it their way, Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo would never receive his rightful recognition

Earlier this month, three women were named recipients of the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize for promoting women's rights and women's participation in peace-building. Yet, the winner of last year's Nobel Peace Prize, Chinese human rights defender Liu Xiaobo, still languishes behind prison bars for seeking to promote peaceful political and social reforms in China.

In the days surrounding International Human Rights Day (December 10), you can shine a light for Liu Xiaobo and for others whose rights have been denied.



Amnesty International is asking you to take one simple action: Write a letter.

This can be a letter of passion and outrage to a government guilty of repressing free expression and denying other human rights. Or it can be a letter of solidarity and hope sent directly to someone who needs reassurance that they are not alone.

Liu Xiaobo is just one case featured in this year's annual Write for Rights - Global Write-a-thon - Amnesty's largest global human rights event. Sign up now and let your letters be counted! Since Amnesty's founding 50 years ago, people throughout the world have joined together in classrooms, coffee houses and community centres to take action. They were united by a simple, yet powerful, tool for change - the letter.



Need proof that written words are powerful? Look no further than Liu Xiaobo - whose words of hope and freedom is seen as such a threat by authorities in China that they have imprisoned him because of them.

Now he and others need you to carry their torch by picking up a pen. You don't need to be a Nobel Prize winner to Write for Rights! Stand with human rights supporters around the world by joining the Global Write-a-thon.

Connect to Amnesty and the Global Write-a-thon here;

http://www.amnestyusa.org/writeathon/?c=W0010EAIAR5&msource=W0010EAIAR5&tr=y&auid=9715468

Controversial human rights issues in China include policies such as capital punishment, the one-child policy, the social status of Tibetans, and lack of protections regarding freedom of press and religion. One of the foremost areas of concern is a lack of legal rights, for want of an independent judiciary, rule of law, and due process. Another prominent area of concern is lack of labour rights, which is related to the hukou system, the absence of independent unions, and discrimination against rural workers and ethnic minorities. Yet another area of concern is the lack of religious freedom, highlighted by state clashes with Christian, Tibetan Buddhist, and Falun Gong groups.

Amnesty International has long called for Liu’s release. We need now more than ever to send a loud and clear plea for Liu’s release. The incarceration of the Nobel Peace Prize winner by the self appointed clique of the Chinese Communist Party is an affront and an outrage.

Free Liu Xiaobo now

Demand that China free Liu Xiaobo

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2010/10/demand-that-china-free-liu-xiaobo.html

Tianemen Square; Nothing happened here?

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2009/06/tiananmen-square-nothing-happened-here.html

Demand that China free Liu Xiaobo

The Nobel Peace Prize is the only one of the Five Nobel Prizes awarded by Norway and the committee has a history of making controversial decisions which have been vindicated by history. The prizes have been awarded to (amongst others) the Burmese Leader Aung San Suu Kyi (as far back as 1991), the 14th Dalai Lama (Tenzin Gyatso), and the Irishman Sean McBride who has the distinction of being the only recipient of both the Nobel and Lenin Peace Prizes. Judging by the howling from the Chinese Dictatorship the committee have got it right again with the award of the 2010 prize to Chinese dissident and author of Declaration 08, Liu Xiaobo.

Naoto Kan, the Japanese prime minister, joined the US, Germany and several other European nations in criticising the imprisonment of Liu Xiaobo and calling for greater freedom in China. China accuses pro-democracy activist Liu Xiaobo of inciting a rebellion. Mr Kan called on China to respect universal human rights, adding that it would be “desirable” to release the 54-year-old former literature professor who was jailed for 11 years last December on charges of “inciting subversion of state power”.

China expressed outrage last week over the Nobel committee’s decision to award its prestigious Peace Prize to incarcerated Chinese human rights activist Liu Xiaobo. But the real outrage is China’s treatment of those who dare to speak truth to power. We should be thrilled for Liu and the spotlight the award places on his unrelenting fight for fundamental freedoms and human rights in China. But Liu won’t be able to celebrate his win with the rest of the world from the confines of his prison cell.



Adding insult to injury, Chinese authorities have placed Liu’s wife Liu Xia under house arrest, likely preventing her from receiving the award in Norway on Liu’s behalf. They’ve also cracked down on activists celebrating Liu’s achievement. Liu Xiaobo needs your help.

Liu, a 54-year old author and scholar, is a prominent government critic who has repeatedly called for human rights protections, political accountability and democratisation in China. In 2009 Liu was charged with "inciting subversion of state power" and given an 11-year prison sentence after an unfair trial for co-authoring a proposal for political and legal reform in China.

Amnesty International has long called for Liu’s release. We need now more than ever to send a loud and clear plea for Liu’s release.


The tanks of Tiananmen Square

Urge Chinese authorities to release Liu Xiaobo immediately.

This award can only make a real difference if it prompts more international pressure on China to release Liu, along with the numerous other prisoners of conscience languishing in Chinese jails for exercising their right to freedom of expression. Now is the time to act.

Numerous human rights organizations maintain a litany of grievances against the Chinese government. Controversial human rights issues in China include policies such as capital punishment, the one-child policy, the social status of Tibetans, and lack of protections regarding freedom of press and religion. One of the foremost areas of concern is a lack of legal rights, for want of an independent judiciary, rule of law, and due process. Another prominent area of concern is lack of labour rights, which is related to the hukou system, the absence of independent unions, and discrimination against rural workers and ethnic minorities. Yet another area of concern is the lack of religious freedom, highlighted by state clashes with Christian, Tibetan Buddhist, and Falun Gong groups.

See also;

Tiananmen Square – Nothing Happened Here

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2009/06/tiananmen-square-nothing-happened-here.html