For immediate release
December 9, 2010, 11:15 am EST
Contact: Uyghur American Association +1 (202) 478 1920

On the eve of International Human Rights Day and the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony on December 10, the Uyghur American Association (UAA) honors Nobel Peace Prize recipient Liu Xiaobo and his efforts to bring human rights and the rule of law to China. Liu now joins the ranks of Nobel Peace Prize laureates Aung San Suu Kyi, Nelson Mandela and His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and his inability to attend the Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo only underscores the relevance of his receiving the award. UAA commends the Nobel Committee for its courageous decision to award the Peace Prize to Liu in spite of threats of retaliation from the Chinese government, and hopes that the award will encourage others working inside China to promote democracy and human rights.

“Liu Xiaobo’s absence is a stark reminder to the world of China’s failure to live up to human rights commitments,” said Uyghur democracy leader Rebiya Kadeer, who will be attending the Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo. “I am deeply saddened by the Chinese government’s decision to imprison Liu, a symbol of non-violence and democratic reform in China, and to keep his wife Liu Xia under house arrest, which is an affront to dignity and justice. At the same time, it is heartening that Chinese human rights defenders from throughout the world have come to Oslo to support Liu Xiaobo and convey their hope for a future in which human rights and democracy flourish in China.”

China’s refusal to allow Liu Xiaobo to personally accept the Peace Prize is reminiscent of the actions of Nazi Germany, which in 1936 prevented German pacifist Carl von Ossietzky from attending the Peace Prize ceremony. The Chinese regime’s intractability with regard to Liu Xiaobo also echoes the actions of Soviet authorities, who did not allow civil liberties advocate Andrei Sakharov to collect the prize in 1975. It also calls to mind the repressive nature of Poland’s communist government in 1983, which compelled trade union organizer and human rights activist Lech Walesa to be unable to accept the prize in person, for fear Polish authorities would not let him back in the country.

“The Chinese government, while it has achieved tremendous economic reform, remains an authoritarian regime that has not improved civil and political rights after six decades of communist rule,” said Ms. Kadeer. “China has not lessened its repression of its citizens’ rights- rights, such as freedom of speech, that should be considered universal values and not subject to the arbitrary judgment of the Chinese justice system. Liu Xiaobo is an example of the non-transparent nature of Chinese justice, and he embodies the voices of dissent that Chinese authorities seek to quash in order to stifle reform.”

Liu, a writer, professor and activist, is currently serving an 11-year sentence, after being convicted of “inciting subversion of state power” in a closed trial in December 2009. He is perhaps best known internationally for contributing to Charter 08, a manifesto calling for democratic reform within China that was published in December 2008 and signed by more than 10,000 Chinese citizens. Many of the original signatories to Charter 08 have suffered police harassment, including house arrest, police surveillance and the confiscation of their property.

Charter 08 is a blueprint for China to create a genuine democracy based upon the will of the Chinese people. Charter 08 was inspired by Charter 77, a petition calling upon the communist government of Czechoslovakia to recognize fundamental human rights. Vaclav Havel, a playwright and dissident who later became the last president of Czechoslovakia and subsequently the first president of the Czech Republic, was one of the drafters of the document. Havel has been vocal in his support of Charter 08 and Liu Xiaobo, and has stressed the need for governments and others to express solidarity with Chinese rights defenders and political prisoners.

In its section on democracy, Charter 08 contains this statement: “While honoring the will of the majority, the fundamental dignity, freedom, and human rights of minorities are protected.” In its discussion of federalism, the charter further states: “Explore possible ways and an institutional design to promote the mutual prospects of all ethnicities with great wisdom, and establish China’s federal republic under the structure of democracy and constitutionalism.” Federalism offers hope for a resolution of China’s territorial issues in East Turkestan and Tibet that is predicated on respect for human rights, and especially the rights of ethnic minorities. A federalist system will ensure stability and help create the “harmonious society” promoted by President Hu Jintao, by bringing about genuine peace among Uyghurs, Tibetans and Chinese.

See also:

UAA hails Nobel Committee’s decision to award the Nobel Peace Prize to Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo
http://uhrp.org/articles/4196/1/UAA-hails-Nobel-Committees-decision-to-award-the-Nobel-Peace-Prize-to-Chinese-dissident-Liu-Xiaobo-/index.html