9 Oct 2010

Nobel Peace Prize to go to Chinese dissident

6:16 am on 9 October 2010

Jailed Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo has been named the winner of the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize.

Nobel Committee president Thorbjoern Jagland said Mr Liu is "the foremost symbol of the wide-ranging struggle for human rights in China".

China says the award is a violation of Nobel principles and summoned Norway's ambassador in Beijing in protest.

Mr Liu's wife and some Western nations have called for his immediate release.

The BBC reports Mr Liu, 54, was a key leader in the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989.

Last year he received an 11-year prison sentence for "inciting subversion" after drafting Charter 08 - which called for multi-party democracy and respect for human rights in China.

The citation reads:

"Liu has consistently maintained that the sentence violates both China's own constitution and fundamental human rights."

It praised Mr Liu for his "long and non-violent struggle" and highlighted its belief in a "close connection between human rights and peace".

Ending the citation, Mr Jagland said: "The campaign to establish universal human rights in China is being waged by many Chinese, both in China itself and abroad.

"Through the severe punishment meted out to him, Liu has become the foremost symbol of this wide-ranging struggle for human rights in China."