Liu Xiaobo: 2010 Nobel Peace Prize in Absentia

by Jordan Yerman | December 10, 2010 at 08:58 am

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Liu Xaiobo Receives 2010 Nobel Peace Prize in Absentia

Liu Xaiobo was given the Nobel Peace Prize in absentia, as he is still imprisoned in China. An empty chair accompanied by Liu Xaiobo's had to stand in the laureate's place, as Nobel Committee Chairman Thorbjoern Jagland gave an acceptance speech in his absence, placing the dissident alongside such champions of democracy as Aung Sun Suu Kyi and Lech Walesa, whose governments also prevented them from receiving their Nobel Peace Prizes.

China Erases 'Empty Chair'

Meanwhile, the Chinese government is doing its best to erase any mention of Liu Xaiobo on any page accessible in China. This even extends to the term "empty chair", in reference to Liu Xiaobo's nonpresence at the Nobel Prize ceremony.

The same thing happened to Lech Walesa in 1983. The Burmese authorities were furious when Aung San Suu Kyi received the Peace Prize in 1991. Once again, the Laureate could not come to Oslo.

But the Chinese government does not want anyone talking about it. So if you write “empty chair” in a post on the Chinese internet, you will find your post taken down a few minutes later.