Liu family needs outweigh foreign demands

The ashes of Liu Xiaobo, who died from liver cancer, were scattered into the sea on Saturday following a farewell ceremony in Shenyang, northeastern China’s Liaoning Province. The sea- burial was a request from Liu’s family members. Liu’s elder brother, Liu Xiaoguang, said the request was made following local custom and “from the bottom of their hearts” upon signing the application for sea- burial.

Liu Xiaoguang thanked the Chinese government on behalf of Liu Xiaobo’s family for fulfilling their requests and providing thoughtful assistance. He also thanked the Chinese government for the humane care Liu’s family members received throughout this period.

Liu Xiaobo was granted medical parole after being diagnosed with late- stage liver cancer in May. The First Hospital of China Medical University where Liu was hospitalized invited top Chinese doctors to treat him, with cancer experts from the US and Germany also participating.

But Liu’s physical condition quickly deteriorated, and he was placed in intensive care. Even though the medical team did an excellent job, it was not enough to save his life. Liu received humanitarian care all the way up until the last minute of his life.

While China has focused on the medical efforts made to save Liu, some overseas forces are attempting to navigate this particular issue in a political direction, turning his medical treatment into a “human rights” cause. Those overseas forces remain skeptical about Liu’s medical diagnosis and the treatment he received. There were even some foreign voices that demanded that the critically ill Liu be transferred abroad in an attempt to display their “sympathy.” They later clamored and attacked China in an exaggerated way when their “demands” went unanswered.

China is not interested in engaging with endless and unreasonable accusations from Western media regarding the medical aid it gave Liu. China was focused on treating Liu for the purpose of saving his life, while at the same time disclosing to the outside world Liu’s medical condition and the level of treatment he was receiving. Such communication was car- ried out to meet the needs of some foreign interests.

Indeed, some Western leaders have begun to understand the hard work that was contributed by China. Although a few Western leaders have spoken via their representatives upon Liu Xiaobo’s death, they did not mention the topic in public during the recent G20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany. It is common sense the world over that misfortunes such as cancer are beyond human control.

The radical parties include a few overseas media outlets, along with some “human rights” organizations, and even a few Western politicians who are using Liu’s illness and death as a tool to boost their image while demonizing China. The same overseas influences will always choose to attack China regardless of circumstances. Even if Liu had been transferred abroad for medical treatment, they still would have found a negative angle to attack China with.

Rather than actually caring about prolonging Liu’s life, the overseas forces behind the negativity over this issue were only interested in exploiting his illness, and subsequent death, in a weak attempt to serve their own interests. Such a selfish mind- set is akin to those that enjoy eating “buns dipped in human blood,” a metaphor penned by the famous Chinese writer Lu Xun in one of his novels. These same people do not care about allowing Liu to leave this world in peace or even show a level of thoughtfulness toward his family’s feelings.

Now that Liu has died, some overseas media outlets and pundits alike have refused to slow down. They continue to stir up allegations or create new demands in an attempt to keep this subject hot.

When you look at this closely, there may well not be that many people interested in making waves again and again over Liu’s illness and death. The interest in this topic has quickly dropped throughout the world. It probably would be too difficult for some overseas media outlets to draw public attention back to this issue the way some would like.

All of the decisions and arrangements that surrounded Liu Xiaobo, including his 11year jail sentence, complied with Chinese law and made sense. It is not surprising that those that do not follow Chinese law and fail to see reason have a highly biased perspective on topics such as this one. As one proverb fittingly states, “you cannot wake a person who is pretending to be asleep.”

China will continue to ignore the clamor made by foreign trouble- makers, and especially from those who prefer a hostile approach. Following Chinese law and dealing with Liu’s illness and death in a humanitarian way are internal affairs for China. Outside forces simply do not have the right to interfere, much less point the finger.

If outside forces refuse to acknowledge the rules and continue to meddle with China’s internal affairs, then time will prove that whatever they say or do will never have an influence. As time passes, they will eventually get bored with their selfserving games, and stop. Such common sense, compared with aggressive behavior from outside forces, is certainly much more powerful.