Liu Xiaobo (born 1955) is a pre-eminent Chinese literary critic, professor and humanitarian activist. Since his hunger strike in Tiananmen Square in June 1989 he has been a thorn in the side of the Chinese government, helping to write the Charter 08 manifesto calling for free speech, democratic elec[...]

When the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded on December 10, 2010, its recipient, Liu Xiaobo, was in Jinzhou Prison, serving an eleven-year sentence for what Beijing called "incitement to subvert state power." In Oslo, actress Liv Ullmann read a long statement the activist had prepared for his 2009 trial.[...]

I december 2008 undertecknade Liu Xiaobo tillsammans med ett hundratal andra kinesiska intellektuella Charta 08, ett politiskt manifest för ökad demokrati. Kort efter undertecknandet blev han arresterad. Den 25 december 2009 dömdes Liu till elva års fängelse för uppvigling till omstörtande ve[...]