Nobel Peace Prize Winner Remains in Chinese Prison

Who is Liu Xiaobo?

	Xiaobo has been involved in numerous pro-democracy and human rights movements in China.

Liu Xiaobo, 54, is a Chinese literary critic, professor and human rights activist best known for his outspoken criticism of the China's one-party rule and calls for democratic reform. Relatively unknown in his native homeland due to extreme censorship of his writings, Xiaobo has been a political prisoner four times since 1989, beginning with his involvement in the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests. Many in China have not heard of Xiaobo, let alone that he was award the Nobel Peace Prize.

Xiaobo has been arrested on charges ranging from “counter-revolutionary propaganda and incitement” to involvement with democracy and human rights movements, disturbing social order. Sentenced in December 2009, he is serving 11 years in prison for “spreading a message to subvert the country and authority.”

Xiaobo is known globally for his work with the “Charter 08” manifesto. Signed by more than 350 Chinese intellectuals and human rights activists to promote political reform and democratization in China, the manifesto was finalized on December 10, 2008, the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a global expression of rights to which all human beings are entitled.

Some of the specific demands in Charter 08 are separation of powers, freedom of religions, freedom of expression, social security, protection of the environment and financial and tax reform.

Only one person, who lives in the United States, out of about 140 Chinese activists invited by Xiaobo's wife has confirmed he will attend the prize ceremony in Oslo, the Associated Press reported. It has been speculated that most on the list have been put under surveillance by the Chinese government and are not permitted to travel outside the country.

China has boycotted the prize ceremony, as have 19 other governments in a show of solidarity.

A prize worth a million dollars

	Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel created five prizes, now with prize money of $1 million each, that recognize achievement in human rights, the sciences and literature.

The Nobel Peace Prize is one of five prizes created by Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel, who made millions developing, among other things, dynamite. Nobel died in 1896 and decreed in his will that an award should be given to “the person who shall have done the most or the best work fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction or standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace confesses.”

The Norwegian Parliament appoints the Norwegian Nobel Committee, which then selects winners each year. The nominators range from university professors to government officials to former recipients. Nominations are considered by the committee and advisors, who compile reports detailing the merit of the top nominees.

Once a final decision has been made, the chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee presents the Nobel Peace Prize in the presence of the King of Norway on December 10 each year, which is the anniversary of Nobel’s death. The Nobel laureate receives a medal, a personal diploma and prize money worth about $1.4 million dollars.

The process has sparked controversy several times in its 110 years. Dictators Benito Mussolini of Italy (1935), Adolf Hitler of Germany (1939) and Joseph Stalin of Russia (1945, 1948) were all nominated for the prestigious award. One of the most famous non-violent human rights activists, Mahatma Gandhi, was never awarded the prize, and in 2009, President Barack Obama sparked debate when he was honored with the award less than two months into his presidency. 

What are human rights?

	The struggle for human rights is one that has gone on for centuries and continues to evolve.

While the idea of basic human rights have existed for centuries, the first recorded human rights laws were a part of German peasants’ demands in 1525. Two major revolutions during the 18th century, in the United States (1776) and in France (1789), led to the adoption of the U.S. Declaration of Independence and the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, which both established certain legal rights, including the right to own property.

In the 19th century, the abolition of slavery became a central concern of human rights advocates. British advocate William Wilberforce worked towards the abolition of slavery and helped construct the Slave Trade Act of 1807 and the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833. In the United States after the end of the Civil War in 1865, the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments were added to the U.S. Constitution banning slavery, assuring full citizenship and civil rights to all people born in the United States and guaranteeing African-Americans the right to vote, respectively. 

After World War II, the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states that “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights,” “everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person” and “no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”

This year's runners-up for the Nobel Peace Prize included Denis Mukwege, a Congolese physician who has treated hundreds of women who have suffered gang rapes is his conflict-ridden country; Sima Samar, an Afghan women’s rights activist; and the Grandmothers of the Plaza De Mayo, an Argentine group who searches for children stolen at birth.