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Chinese Dissidents Make Rare Visit to Nobel Laureate's Wife

Liu Xia, the wife of Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo, talks to the media in Beijing February 11, 2010.

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Reuters

December 31, 2012

BEIJING — A small group of Chinese dissidents forced their way past security guards last week to visit the detained wife of Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo and deliver a message of support, one of the dissidents said on Monday.

Liu, a veteran dissident involved in the 1989 Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests crushed by the Chinese army, won the prize in 2010. He was jailed the year before and is serving an 11-year sentence.

His wife Liu Xia is under house arrest. She is rarely allowed out and is almost never allowed to receive visitors.

Family friend and fellow dissident Hu Jia said he and a small group barged past guards at the apartment in Beijing's western suburbs on Friday - Liu Xiaobo's birthday - to be greeted by a tearful and surprised Liu Xia.

"I feel it is our right as Chinese citizens to go and see her,'' Hu told Reuters. "I told her about the 134 Nobel laureates who have called on the government to release her and her husband. She was overjoyed to hear about this, but she also felt a sense of hopelessness that the government would pay no attention,'' he added. "All I could say was that she should not give up hope.''

Hu said the visit lasted just a few minutes, and that Liu Xia expressed a fear the government would take retribution against her for the meeting. He later uploaded a video of the visit to YouTube.

The Nobel laureates, including the Dalai Lama and author Toni Morrison, wrote to Communist Party chief Xi Jinping earlier this month, urging him to release Liu and his wife.

China says Liu is a criminal and should be treated as such, dismissing criticism of the case as unwarranted interference in its internal affairs. Liu's wife has not been convicted of any crime despite being under house arrest.

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by: Jonathan Huang from: canada

December 31, 2012 4:15 PM

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I believe the best solution is that US supplies the scholarship to Liu and give him a study visa to US like it did to the blind lawyer.
China would be happy to see that happens.
Further more, US should give each of Chinese dissidents and their families a citizenship.

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by: Anonymous

January 01, 2013 1:17 PM

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Yeap, these people just want to be a American ,they greedy people can do anything for their own purposes.

by: Anonymous

December 31, 2012 12:42 PM

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These people are parasites in China, no one care about them, all they can do is crying for help by others

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by: Ian from: USA

December 31, 2012 6:14 PM

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To Anonynous,
I beg to disagree.
These brave people are the hope of a better future for China.
Every country need multiples voices & ideas in order to have check / balance and healthy government (otherwise governments will become dictators, corrupted and free to do what they want to their citizens)
In fact I think those officials & peoples who had connections to the high places in Bejing and who enriched themselves with billions are the parasites of China (in reality ,they are neither communists , nor are they socialists! they are just a bunch of NOUVEAU CUT-THROAT RED CAPITALISTS with the power to kill and silent anyone who try to stop them from bleeding China)

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Chinese Dissidents Make Rare Visit to Nobel Laureate's Wife

<h1>Chinese Dissidents Make Rare Visit to Nobel Laureate's Wife </h1><img src="http://www.voanews.com/App_Themes/VOA_en-US/img/colorLogo.gif"/>A small group of Chinese dissidents forced their way past security guards last week to visit the detained wife of Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo and deliver a message of support, one of the dissidents said on Monday. Liu, a veteran dissident involved in the 1989 Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests crushed by the Chinese army, won the prize in 2010. He was jailed the year before and is serving an 11-year sentence. His wife Liu Xia is under house arrest. She is rarely allowed out and is almost never allowed to receive visitors. Family friend and fellow dissident Hu Jia said he and a small group barged past guards at the apartment in Beijing's western suburbs on Friday - Liu Xiaobo's birthday - to be greeted by a tearful and surprised Liu Xia. "I feel it is our right as Chinese citizens to go and see her,'' Hu told Reuters. "I told her about the 134 Nobel laureates who have called on the government to release her and her husband. She was overjoyed to hear about this, but she also felt a sense of hopelessness that the government would pay no attention,'' he added. "All I could say was that she should not give up hope.'' Hu said the visit lasted just a few minutes, and that Liu Xia expressed a fear the government would take retribution against her for the meeting. He later uploaded a video of the visit to YouTube. <object height="326" width="580"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/1Dl_hVH9Ky8?version=3&hl=en_US" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><embed allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="326" src="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/1Dl_hVH9Ky8?version=3&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="580"></embed></object> The Nobel laureates, including the Dalai Lama and author Toni Morrison, wrote to Communist Party chief Xi Jinping earlier this month, urging him to release Liu and his wife. China says Liu is a criminal and should be treated as such, dismissing criticism of the case as unwarranted interference in its internal affairs. Liu's wife has not been convicted of any crime despite being under house arrest.<link rel="canonical" href="http://www.voanews.com/content/reuters-chinese-dissidents-make-rare-visit-to-nobel-laureates-wife/1575041.html"/><meta name="syndication-source" content="http://www.voanews.com/content/reuters-chinese-dissidents-make-rare-visit-to-nobel-laureates-wife/1575041.html"/><img src="http://livetracker.voanews.eu/counter.lt?PageType=256&RecordId=1575041&SiteId=415&r=1855870239&it=0&pd=20121231132025&url=ArticleID1575041" alt="" style="border:none;" height="1" width="1">

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