Beijing: China unleashed a fresh diatribe on Tuesday ahead of the ceremony honouring Nobel peace laureate Liu Xiaobo, calling the Nobel committee "clowns" and saying most of the world backed Beijing's position.
Pro-democracy activists demand the release of Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo as they demonstrate in December 5. AFP
"We are against anybody making an issue out of Liu Xiaobo and interfering in China's judicial affairs." She added: "We will not change because of interference by a few clowns." The Nobel committee is set to hold an award ceremony in Oslo for Liu on Friday, which is Human Rights Day, marking the adoption in 1948 by the UN General Assembly of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Liu, a writer and academic who has boldly fought for reform of China's one-party political system for more than two decades, was jailed in December 2009 for 11 years on subversion charges. No one is expected to be on hand to accept the award on behalf on Liu, who was named as the Nobel peace laureate in October.
His wife, Liu Xia, has been under house arrest since that time, other family members are under pressure not to speak publicly and many of Liu's fellow dissidents and supporters have been warned not to attend or have been physically prevented from leaving China, activists have said.
Diplomats also have said China -- which has been deeply embarrassed by the award -- has pressured other governments not to send their representatives to the ceremony. Jiang said "more than 100 countries and international organisations" had "expressed explicit support of China's position opposing this year's peace prize," but she declined to provide details.
On another occasion, she referred to "more than 100 countries." "You can see very clearly that the vast majority of the international community will not attend the ceremony," she said during a regular press briefing.
UN Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay has declined to attend this week's Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo. AFP
Liu was jailed after he co-authored "Charter 08", a 2008 manifesto calling for political reform and greater rights in China that spread quickly on the Internet. Human rights activists say Liu was jailed after merely exercising his right to free speech, which is guaranteed in China's constitution.
Activists say the Communist Party government routinely abuses its subversion charges as a tool for silencing critics. China has furiously rejected any criticism, branding Liu a "criminal" and warning other countries against interfering in its judicial system.
Liu Xiaobo's wife has been living under house arrest since her husband won the Nobel Peace Prize in October 2010. AFP
Most invited countries, including India will attend Friday's Nobel peace prize ceremony in Oslo for jailed Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo, Nobel Institute director Geir Lundestad said on Tuesday, contradicting a statement from China.
"You only have to look at the figures. The vast majority of countries invited will be represented," said Lundestad. According to the Nobel Institute, 44 embassies have accepted invitations to the event while 19 have refused "for various reasons" and two have not replied. China said earlier that the vast majority of countries would not attend the ceremony in honour of Liu, described by Beijing as a criminal.
The Nobel Institute traditionally invites all ambassadors posted in Oslo to the Nobel prize ceremony. China has threatened there will be "consequences" for countries that show their support for Liu by attending the event.
Besides China, the countries who have declined to participate in Friday's ceremony in the Oslo city hall are: Afghanistan, Colombia, Cuba, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Morocco, Pakistan, the Philippines, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Sudan, Tunisia, Ukraine, Venezuela, Vietnam.
Algeria and Sri Lanka had not yet responded to their invitations by the end of the day Monday. In Beijing, China's foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu meanwhile told reporters Tuesday "the vast majority of the international community will not attend the ceremony." "More than 100 countries support us," he said, calling the members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee "clowns."
The Nobel organisers meanwhile stressed there were various reasons why some countries would not attend. Russia for instance has said scheduling difficulties rather than political considerations were keeping it away.
The Nobel Institute has also pointed out that when the largely uncontroversial 2008 prize was awarded to Martti Ahtisaari, 10 embassies did not attend. Liu, a writer, was jailed in December 2009 for 11 years on subversion charges after co-authoring "Charter 08", a manifesto that spread quickly on the Internet calling for political reform and greater rights in China.
The laureate himself, who remains in prison, will not be able to attend and neither will his wife, Liu Xia, who has been held in house arrest since the prize was announced in October. An empty chair, a photograph and one of his texts read by Norwegian actress Liv Ullman will represent Liu at the ceremony.
Source: Agencies