China frees terminally ill Nobel laureate dissident

LIU XIAOBO, the jailed Chinese Nobel Peace laureate and dissident, has been released on medical parole after being diagnosed with late-stage liver cancer, his lawyer and supporters said.

Mr Liu, perhaps China’s best known dissident, was jailed in 2009 for “inciting subversion of state power” after calling for reform. A year later he became only the third person to have received the Nobel peace award while incarcerated by their own government.

Mo Shaoping, his lawyer, said yesterday that he had been told by friends that Mr Liu had been released. It is understood from supporters that Mr Liu was in stable condition at a hospital in the north-eastern city of Shenyang. He was reportedly diagnosed with terminal cancer on May 23.

The writer, 61, was jailed for promoting Charter 08, a manifesto calling for democratic reform. The petition was signed by thousands, causing huge concern for the Communist Party.

He was convicted of engaging in activities designed to overthrow the government and sentenced to 11 years in jail in 2009. All of his works are banned and Liu Xia, his wife, has been under house arrest since 2010.

Mr Liu was a veteran of the 1989 Tiananmen Square demonstrations. The decision to award him the Nobel prize “for his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China” infuriated Beijing, which froze diplomatic ties with Norway.

Relations have warmed in recent months, and both sides announced the normalisation of ties last December.

China’s foreign ministry said it was unaware of the situation when asked about Mr Liu’s release.

Amnesty International said: “The Chinese authorities should immediately ensure that Liu Xiaobo receives adequate medical care, and that he and all others imprisoned for exercising their human rights are immediately and unconditionally released.”

Former Tiananmen Square student leaders, Wang Dan and Wu’er Kaixi, said on Friday that they were “shocked and devastated” to hear about Mr Liu’s condition.

Additional reporting by Christine Wei