Two weeks ago, most of the world hadn’t heard of Liu Xiaobo. Even in his home country of China, few people knew who he was. But on Oct. 8, 2010, Liu Xiaobo became the first Chinese citizen to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
He is also the first to receive this award while in prison.
Liu, 54, is a Chinese dissident and human rights activist currently imprisoned for “subversion of state power”—specifically, for coauthoring the Charter 08 document calling for the end of communism in China and for greater freedoms for all its people. Although 300 people signed the document at the time of his arrest, Liu was the only one to be jailed for it.
Upon receiving the news that Liu would be awarded the Nobel Prize, China immediately lashed out at the “western world.” China stated that awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to a “criminal” violated the principles of the award, and immediately following the announcement cancelled several meetings with Norway. Chinese officials did not inform Liu that he had won the award. His wife, Liu Xia, had to make a private visit to do so. She is now under house arrest, along with many other known Chinese dissidents.
According to Dr. Bruce Gilley, assistant professor in the division of political science at Portland State University, China’s reaction is predictable, but not as severe as it could have been. “Compared to China’s reaction when the Dalai Lama won this prize, this is softer—less hostile,” Dr. Gilley said, referencing the exiled figure’s 1989 award. “This is partly because China has come to understand the need to act diplomatically on an international scale and partly because Liu Xiaobo is not an ethnic minority.”
Restrained though it might be, China’s reaction to Liu winning this award is still severe and unacceptable, according to Gilley, who specializes on the comparative politics of China and Asia. “It is a sign of a weak and insecure nation,” he says. “It brings China’s political system to the attention of the world at large and keeps China on the defensive on human rights.”
China’s development and industrialization over the past 30 years has captivated much of the world’s attention. In the span of a few decades, this once-poor country has made great strides economically and industrially. The international community has watched China rise as a world power, sometimes with concern about its hubris. More often than not, however, its concern has been directed more toward the country’s treatment of its people.
Human rights-wise, China has garnered a plethora of grievances from the world stage. Censorship, propaganda, restrictions on movement, politics and religion, the one-child policy, capital punishment, torture, and labor rights in China are just a few of the things that various groups feel violate human rights in China.
Liu has always been an opponent of these violations in China. From the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 to the signing of Charter 08, Liu’s activism extends deeply into the world of human rights. He is an outspoken proponent of democracy in China, as well as the separation of state powers. He has been imprisoned four times, and is currently one year into an 11-year prison sentence.
China’s reaction to Liu receiving the Nobel Peace Prize underlines the ongoing need for human rights campaigns in China—and for the rest of the world to stand up to this growing superpower. Many Chinese exchange students at PSU refused to go on record with their opinions of China’s reaction to Liu’s award. Gilley finds this unsurprising.
“A Nobel Prize is an honor for any people or nation. That the Beijing government has managed to spin it otherwise and that everyone abroad is falling into line is shocking,” Gilley said. “But Chinese students here are aware that anything they say publically could harm their return to China, their status, their scholarships or their future careers. So it really isn’t that surprising that they don’t want to speak.”
Chinese students and citizens may refuse to do so, but for the rest of the world, it is time to speak up and stand together against China’s attempts at repressing its people’s voices and pressuring the international community to give in to its demands. It is time to see the many human rights violations in China and support those dissidents China fights so hard to silence. It is time to stand up for the people of China—not bow to its growing influence on the world stage.
And that, says Gilley, starts at home. “As China’s power grows and its influence extends to places of higher education like PSU, it is important that we live by our own principles and don’t play China’s games,” he said. “Otherwise, as we engage more and more closely with China, how can we maintain our academic freedoms and integrity?”
It is time to stand. ?