Liu Xiaobo is in jail and is unaware of the honour that he has received. In fact most of China is unaware as State censors scrambled broadcasts of the ceremony as it was carried live by CNN and the BBC.
With this award, the Nobel Peace Prize regains much of the lustre that it had lost in recent years as unworthy recipients such as Barack Obama and Al Gore were honoured.
Mr Liu is a worthy addition to the pantheon that includes people such as Bishop Desmond Tutu and Mother Theresa who worked tirelessly to lift people out of oppression and poverty. The Nobel Committee displayed great wisdom in honouring FW De Clerk alongside Nelson Mandela for jointly leading South Africa beyond Apartheid. Many others were inspiring leaders for peace and justice who richly deserved their place.
The wisdom of this choice can be seen in the reaction of the Chinese government. First they tried to preempt the award by threatening the government of Norway by calling it a hostile action. After it was announced, they decried the awarding of such an honour upon a 'criminal.' Humanity would be well served if only more such 'criminals' existed in our midst.
The world has moved on since Tiananmen Square and that is a stain upon humanity. The Chinese nation suffers from less material poverty but threatens more of their neighbours militarily and more of the world economically. Even the United States treads carefully lest they offend such a valuable trading partner.
The images of tanks rolling over students were horrifying to the world. How soon they forget.
The most indelible image for me is of a lone student standing before the tanks. His courage and defiance should be remembered today.
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