China's Ignoble Prize Rebuke ; Defensive Communist Cadre Repudiates Peace Award

Summary

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When the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize ceremony convenes in Oslo on Friday, the winner's seat will be vacant and the award will go unclaimed. China has unleashed a scorched-earth strategy against imprisoned human rights activist Liu Xiaobo and his family in a vain attempt to expunge international recognition of its native son's achievement.

For all of Beijing's promises that it's traveling on the path to modernity, China refuses to concede that any authority outside the domestic Communist Party can define who among its 1.3 billion souls is worthy of honor. While the Nobel Committee has chosen to recognize Mr. Liu "for his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China," Chinese communist leaders view him as a dangerous subversive. From their perspective, allowing him to claim his prize would be tantamount to admitting his criticisms are legitimate and would shatter the supremacy of Chinese authority.

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China's Ignoble Prize Rebuke ; Defensive Communist Cadre Repudiates Peace Award

Such persecution is counterproductive. The harder Mr. Liu's critics try to silence him with anonymity i...

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