Friedensnobelpreis an Liu Xiaobo

Was in der westlichen Welt als Sieg gegen den Kommunismus gefeiert wird, ist in China selbst ein ganz heikles Thema.

Dem chinesischen Menschenrechtler Liu Xiaobo wird in seiner Abwesenheit heute in Oslo der diesjaehrige Friedensnobelpreis verliehen, zum Aergernis der chinesischen Regierung.

Als ich gestern Abend Nachrichten auf CNN geschaut habe, wurde das Signal gekappt, als der Moderator gerade dabei war ueber die Ehrung von Liu Xiaobo's zu berichten. Seit mehreren Tagen sind westliche Nachrichtenportale der BBC und CNN aus China aus nicht mehr erreichbar.

Allein die Tatsache, dass ich hier jetzt darueber schreibe ist nicht ganz ungefaehrlich und ich bin mir sicher, dass die entsprechende Stelle in Peking nicht lange brauchen wird diesen Thread hier zu entdecken. Falls also in den kommenden Tagen meine Website nicht erreichbar sein sollte, dann wisst Ihr warum.

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"China rounded up critics, tightened online censorship and condemned foreign interference in its relentless campaign against the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Liu Xiaobo. Thousands of state security agents and police fanned out across China, detaining any known friends, supporters and even mere acquaintances of the jailed dissident in the final hours before today’s ceremony in Oslo.

Censors in China have blocked many foreign news websites, including the BBC, CNN and NRK, the Norwegian broadcaster. The crackdown is the most severe since the security measures imposed during the Beijing Olympics in August 2008 and last year’s National Day commemorating 60 years of Communist Party rule.

The two main lawyers who defended Mr Liu during his two-hour trial last December have had their mobile phone connections cut off. Some of Mr Liu’s closest associates have been taken out of Beijing to hotels in the countryside, or to secret locations, to ensure that no one tries to celebrate the event.
Ai Weiwei, China’s most famous artist-activist, whose Sunflower Seeds installation is on show at the Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall, has had his mobile phone and internet connections cut — a blow to a man who spends much time on Twitter, voicing opinions and organising campaigns.

In a typically sarcastic tweet sent last night, Mr Ai told followers: “My telephone has been cut off, the internet has been blocked at my office and China Mobile and China Telecoms refuse to give me the reason: it’s a state secret.”
Mr Ai is one of hundreds of scholars and artists whose activities have been curtailed as the Communist Party shows its fury at the award to a man who is serving the second year of an 11-year sentence for subversion. The Chinese Government angrily criticised the US Congress for passing a resolution in Mr Liu’s support. Officials have repeatedly said they believe that the award is part of a plot by the United States to damage China.

Jiang Yu, a Foreign Ministry official, urged US legislators to change “their arrogant and rude attitude. They should show respect to the Chinese people and China’s legal sovereignty.”

She defended the legal process that put Mr Liu in jail. His lawyers were allowed to present a 14-minute defence of their client — the same time taken by prosecutors to make their case — before the court sentenced him on Christmas Day last year.

Ms Jiang said: “Liu Xiaobo was not convicted because of his remarks. Liu wrote and published inflammatory articles on the internet, organising and persuading others to sign it, to stir up and overthrow China’s political authority and social system. Liu’s problem is that he has gone beyond general criticism; it was an act that jeopardised society.”

Zhang Zuhua, a former Communist Party official who co-authored the Charter 08 document demanding democratic reforms that landed Mr Liu in jail, was incommunicado yesterday. He had been asked to accompany security officials out of Beijing until after the award ceremony"