Top cancer experts treat Liu Xiaobo on medical parole

China’s top cancer experts are providing treatment to Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo, the Liaoning Prison Administrative Bureau said on Monday.

Liu has been granted medical parole after being diagnosed with liver cancer. The No. 1 Hospital of the China Medical University has assigned a team composed of eight renowned cancer experts to formulate medical plans and treat Liu, according to a press release on the website of the Liaoning Prison Administrative Bureau on Monday.

Liu was sentenced to 11 years in jail on December 25, 2009, after a court in Beijing convicted him of engaging in activities designed to overthrow the government. Liu had been serving his sentence in the Jinzhou Prison in Liaoning.

The Oslo- based Nobel Committee conferred on Liu the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize.

China has repeatedly voiced opposition to the granting of the award to Liu. Liu’s award also led to public criticism about the value of the prize.

China- Norway relations have deteriorated since then, and the two countries only announced the normalization of diplomatic and political ties in December 2016.

Born in 1955, Liu was a worker in his youth. He got his master’s degree in 1984 and began working as a teacher at Beijing Normal University. He obtained his Ph. D. in 1988.