BEIJING: China will not yield to outside pressure on jailed Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo, the Foreign Ministry said on Thursday, striking a combative tone the day before the award is due to be formally bestowed.
Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu denounced what she said were “double standards” applied to China’s legal system, and criticised the US House of Representatives for calling on China to release Liu and his wife, Liu Xia, who is under house arrest.
China awarded its answer to the Nobel Peace Prize on Thursday, giving the “Confucius Peace Prize” to former Taiwan vice-president Lien Chan, though his office said he was unaware of the award and he did not show up to collect it.
Jiang told a regular news briefing any attempts to pressure China on Liu, and to “deter China from its development”, would not succeed.
“China urges the relevant US lawmakers to stop the wrong words and activity on the Liu Xiaobo issue and to change their arrogant and rude attitude,” Jiang said. “They should show respect to the Chinese people and China’s legal sovereignty.”
“The US Congress’ so-called resolution distorts the truth, it is widely meddling in China’s internal affairs,” she said.
Liu was jailed last Christmas Day for subversion of state power and for being the lead author of Charter 08, a manifesto by intellectuals and activists calling for democratic reform in the one-party state.
Jiang again defended China’s jailing of Liu.
“Liu Xiaobo was not convicted because of his remarks,” she said. “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,” Jiang said. China’s sweeping crackdown on dissidents, rights activists and friends and family of Liu has continued.
Police prevented some prominent lawyers, legal scholars and NGO representatives from attending a seminar on the rule of law at the European Union’s embassy in Beijing, the EU’s ambassador to China said.
“It is a pity and in fact it is a shame,” Serge Abou told reporters. China, which views criticism of its human rights record as a bid to contain its growing might, has flexed its economic muscle in drumming up support for a boycott of the Oslo award ceremony for Liu, jailed for 11 years for subversion.
Most of the 18 states joining the boycott have strong commercial ties with with China or share its hostility towards Western human rights pressure.
Vietnam, which also comes in for criticism over its rights record, defended its decision not to attend the gala.
“The goal of the Nobel Peace Prize is to promote peace and friendship among people. For that reason, we hope that the Nobel Peace Prize can be given to deserving organisations and individuals, and not be used for political goals,” said Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Nguyen Phuong Nga.
