China says Filipino drug mules handled according to law

China said Tuesday it was handling the cases of 5 Filipinos sentenced to death for drugs offences according to law, after Manila linked their fate to its no-show at the Nobel peace prize ceremony.

Philippines President Benigno Aquino told a newspaper that staying away from Friday's ceremony in Oslo to honour peace laureate Liu Xiaobo had been "in our national interest" -- a reference to convicted Filipinos in China.

"China's judiciary handled the cases of the 5 Philippine drug traffickers independently and in accordance with law," foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told reporters when asked about Manila's no-show in Norway.

"Their rights have been ensured and we have been following the conventions on consular affairs and regular Chinese laws and regulations," Jiang said.

"We will update the Philippine side on the case in a timely manner and provide necessary assistance and convenience for Philippine consular officials."

Beijing has expressed its fury at the honour given to Liu, who was sentenced in December 2009 to 11 years in prison on subversion charges after co-authoring a bold petition that calls for political reform in 1-party China.

It had attempted to dissuade countries from attending the award ceremony, warning of unspecified consequences.

The Daily Inquirer said Aquino had written to Beijing seeking clemency for the five Filipinos, who were handed the death penalty for drugs trafficking.

"It's in our national interest that we do not, at this time, send a representative to the Nobel award rites," he told the paper ahead of the ceremony.

Aquino's spokesman Herminio Coloma and foreign department spokesman Eduardo Malaya confirmed the president was referring to a bid to obtain clemency for the 5.

The official reason for the no-show was a scheduling clash but several top-level officials have admitted privately that Manila wanted to appease Beijing.

Source: Agence France-Presse, December 14, 2010

Philippines skipped Nobel over China death verdict

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — President Benigno Aquino III said the Philippines did not send a representative to the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony honoring a jailed Chinese dissident because of his efforts to spare Filipinos on death row in China.

Aquino said in an interview published in the Philippine Sunday Inquirer that his envoy's absence at the ceremony in Norway on Friday did not mean his government is not championing democracy and human rights.

"Our interest (is) to advance our citizens' needs first," he told the newspaper in his first comments since human rights activists criticized the Philippines' decision to boycott Friday's ceremony with China and 16 other countries.

China was outraged at the award for democracy advocate Liu Xiaobo, demonizing him in state media and portraying the Nobel as a Western propaganda tool to undermine China. It sought to persuade and pressure other countries to not attend the ceremony, and nearly all the boycotters were close China allies and trading partners.

Chinese Ambassador Liu Jianchao has said his government did not pressure or influence the Philippines.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo also said that Manila's move should not be interpreted as "taking sides with China."

He told reporters Thursday that his government remains "clear and consistent to its fight for human rights," citing its campaign in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations for the release of Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar's pro-democracy leader. The military junta there released her from a lengthy detainment last month.

Aquino said he already sent a letter to the Chinese government seeking clemency for five Filipinos sentenced to death for drug trafficking.

The Foreign Affairs Department said the death sentences were under review by China's highest court. If clemency is granted, the sentences could be commuted to life imprisonment.

The Philippines has no death penalty, while China executes more prisoners than any other country and applies capital punishment to a range of crimes.

Aquino also said that the Philippines was seeking a "closure" with China over the killings of eight Hong Kong tourists during a hostage crisis Aug. 23 in Manila. The police response to the hostage-taking was widely criticized as inept, and it damaged the countries' diplomatic relations.

Aquino said Vice President Jejomar Binay was expected to meet with Chinese officials next week to discuss the results of the investigation into the hostage deaths.

China has been investing in the Philippine economy, particularly infrastructure projects, but the two countries are also facing off in the hotly disputed South China Sea islands, where the United States is promoting the peaceful resolution of territorial disputes.

Source: The Associated Press, December 12, 2010

Nobel Prize Committee Asks China To Free Liu Xiaobo

By ETHAN Markoff

CHINA NEWS – This year Oslo had witnessed two standing ovations for a person who was represented only by an empty chair. The jailed Nobel Prize winner Liu Xiaobo received much sympathy and support from all over the world, and moreover, Nobel Prize committee strongly come against china, asking for the immediate release of Chinese dissident Mr. Xiaobo, winner of the 2010 Peace Prize.

The China also showed its anger by the award given and waged a campaign from months, putting intellectuals and media into forced silence. In an aggressive mood, China declared that it would resolutely resist any country or any person using the Nobel Peace Prize to interfere with China’s internal affairs. Further, the Foreign Ministry called the Prize ceremony a “political farce.”

On the other hand, Nobel chairman Thorbjorn Jagland appreciated the efforts of China to curb the poverty factor and acclaimed as an "extraordinary achievement", but also warned China to be ready for criticism as world power had to bear the brunt.

In the Nobel Prize ceremony the question of freedom gained the highest decibel where Norwegian actress Liv Ullmann read out a statement that Mr Liu had made in court during his trial in December 2009.

"I, filled with optimism, look forward to the advent of a future, free China," said the statement.

A special report of the United Nation says China arrested at least 20 activists before Nobel ceremony. It is reported that Beijing imposed house arrests, travel restrictions, forced relocation of at least 120 cases.

Mr. Liu, one of China's leading dissidents, was arrested in North-east China for state subversion. His wife, Liu Xia, is under house arrest before the ceremony and still confined to her home.

Before the ceremony China had created pressure on countries to boycott the prize ceremony. 16 countries - including Russia, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan didn’t attend the ceremony, while China returned their invitation unopened.

Liu Xiaobo was first come into limelight in 1989 when he protested in Beijing's Tiananmen Square.

He was strongly vocal against Chinese government and sent to prison for two years, since then he has written several accounts against the government. In December 2009 he was given an 11-year prison sentence for inciting the subversion of state power. He co-authored a document known as Charter 08 that clearly asks for political reforms and isolation of powers and legislative democracy.

Liu Xiaobo, a professor of literature, is serving an 11-year sentence in a Chinese prison for "inciting subversion of state power"; Not allowed to travel to Norway to accept his Nobel Peace Prize

Oslo, Norway (CNN) -- An imprisoned Chinese dissident was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway, on Friday as groups of protesters gathered outside the Norwegian Embassy and United Nations offices in Beijing.

China has responded furiously since the Nobel committee announced on October 8 that Liu Xiaobo would be its peace prize winner. Officials have repeatedly called Liu a common criminal and declared the award a Western plot against China.

A large number of officers also stood guard outside the west central Beijing apartment complex where Liu Xiaobo's wife, Liu Xia, has been under house arrest since the award was announced. Journalists were cordoned off in a small area next to the building.

The police presence outside the Norwegian Embassy in Beijing had also increased early Friday.

Liu, a professor of literature, is serving an 11-year sentence in a Chinese prison for what the government called "inciting subversion of state power." He was not allowed to travel to Norway to accept the prize, nor was his wife, Liu Xia.

He will be represented by an empty chair at the Nobel ceremony, the second time such a symbol has been used in the event.

Click here to read the full story and view related videos.

Source: CNN.com, December 10, 2010

China Doesn't Allow The Dissident Liu Xiaobo Or Family To Attend Nobel Ceremony

By ETHAN Markoff

CHINA NEWS - History repeat itself, however, this time in a more uncompromising manner. When Soviet physicist and human rights advocate Andrei D. Sakharov was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in midst of cold war, he wasn't allowed to attend the ceremony but his wife to collect the award. In a similar example Polish authorities didn't allow trade unionist Lech Walesa to travel to Oslo, but his wife collected the award in his stead. In 1991, Myanmar opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's son accepted the prize when his mother was being held under house arrest.

But the obstinate Chinese government have decided to break but not bend on their approach. They have been practicing a muscular offensive way to protest against the so called Western ploy to undermine the Chinese Communist Party's hold on power. This year Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to Liu Xiaobo, 54 years-old who is currently serving an 11-year sentence for subversion. The government has decided not to allow his wife or family member to collect the award, and adding insult to the injury, wife of Mr. Xiaobo has been held incommunicado since news of the award broke last month.

Chinese authority is very clear in the approach, giving warning foreign governments to boycott the award ceremony. Not only that, the government has put strict restriction and surveillance on prominent dissidents and intellectuals.

The uncompromising hostile attitude of Chinese government is remarkably offensive. In fact, the government declared that the prize money including a medal and $1.5 million in cash would probably be postponed.

China in the recent past has gained an unprecedented economic mileage and probably because of its strong economic integration into the global economy that neither achieved by any Communist nation before, giving voice to confront the West mobilization technique to whole world.

“Awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to Liu Xiaobo once again reflects the strong attempts of Western countries to intervene in the political process in China,” said a commentary that ran this month in the official newspaper People’s Daily.

Although it appears that China urge not to attend the Oslo ceremony to other nations has hit an iron wall of disapproval. A very few countries such as Russia, Iraq, Cuba and Kazakhstan have agreed to China's plea for a boycott. However, 36 other countries have declared that they would send attend the ceremony.

Bejing Livid Over Nobel Peace Prize To Liu Xiaobo

By ONE Liner Agencies

Liu Xiaobo

Chinese government loathed at the Nobel Peace Prize committee for the Nobel Peace Prize award that is awarded to jailed Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo. He is believed to be involved in anti-government rebellion and political reform in the country.

The Chinese government lashed the Nobel and in an explicit way called the award “an obscenity” that goes against the aims of the award. In a statement, Chinese Foreign Ministry threatened that the award would hurt China’s relations with Norway.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu in a recent statement said in less harsh language, accusing Liu Xiaobo for violating Chinese law.

Liu was sentenced to 11 years imprisonment in December, though there were no official details given by authorities stated which laws he has violated.

The 54-year-old writer was detained two years back for the release of controversial Charter 08- a manifesto he helped organize that asks for political reform in the nation.

Patrick Poon, of the Independent Chinese PEN Center, a writers’ group that Liu has earlier lead, says Chinese government harsh step actually backfired and people will inspire to speak out openly.

"As we can also see in the situation in the past few years, there may have been more and more crackdowns, but we have not seen a decreasing number of dissidents, people expressing their views," said Poon.

The Chinese media also banned the news of Nobel Peace award and the international media broadcasting were temporarily cut. Internet users could find the news but only if they use proxies to bypass the cyber blocks the Chinese government maintains to sieve out information that seems to them sensitive or illegal.

I Am Puzzled

This morning I heard the news that Barack Obama has won the Nobel Peace Prize. Everyone I have talked to seems to be either elated or infuriated over this news. I am simply puzzled.

I like Mr. Obama. I supported him in the US Presidential race last year. I am glad he won.



I do not understand why he was awarded this most prestigious prize, however. He has a lot of promise, true, but what are accomplishments. other than being elected? What has he actually done? I consider here only on the international scene since that is really the scope of the Nobel Peace Prize..

Gitmo is still up and functioning, US troops are still occupying Iraq and the war in Afghanistan...Ah, yes, the war in Afghanistan. That one is going badly and there is no end in sight.



Admittedly, in the past there have been some strange choices. The two strangest have to have been Henry Kissinger and Yasser Arafat. One I respect and admire, the other I despise. This is not about my personal opinion of the men involved. It just seems to me that these two men had greater interests than bringing peace to the world.



Is Barack Obama really in the same league as Martin Luther King, Jr. and Nelson Mandela?



Or my personal hero, Aun Sa Suu Kyu?


If you're interested, the whole list is at Nobel Peace Prize Winners 1900-2009.

I do not believe he is in their league. Not yet. Perhaps in a year or two - or six or seven. My thought is that this is in the order of a bribe of sorts. "Mr. Obama, we're giving you this prize in the hope that you will live up to your early promise as the first great person of the new millennium. Maybe.