Prison peace

The continued assertion and propounded growth of the Chinese economy is nothing short of a marvel. But when China warns other countries if they do something the government doesn’t like there will be back lash you are forced to ask, who do the Chinese exactly think they are? Granted, they are making huge strides in economic development but when we talk about human rights, Beijing’s record is abysmal. Tibet is their catastrophic failure and their unwillingness to resolve it by peaceful means is a whole another matter.

This morning my heart gave a little woohoo on reading the news. As you know, its Nobel season and yesterday the Literature prize was announced to the Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa. Today was the turn of the Peace prize, which last year went to President Obama. Before the prize was announced today there was a lot of speculation on who would win it, because the favorite was Liu Xiaobo. Of course, in the past few weeks the Chinese government had warned the Norwegian government they would oppose the move should the prize be awarded to Mr. Lui because he is a “criminal.” Yes, for the past 20+ years Mr. Lui has been rotting in a Chinese prison for his efforts to promote democracy in the communist nation.

So I went woohoo, because defying China’s status as a rising power and the second largest economy in the world and all those other great, big tags the Nobel committee today announced the Peace prize to Mr. Lui. In their words, "The Norwegian Nobel Committee has long believed that there is a close connection between human rights and peace. Such rights are a prerequisite for the fraternity between nations of which Alfred Nobel wrote in his will."

So guess what China’s government did? Besides opposing the move, they blocked the live telecast of the announcement with all international channels temporarily blacked out and called it a “blasphemy to the prize.”   

As I said earlier, China’s spectacular growth in the past few decades is a testament to her people’s hard work and the smarts of the government to implement policies that work. But when a nation no matter how powerful starts dictating terms, bullying other nations and interfering in all decisions they don’t agree with there can be a problem. I am proud that the Norwegian government stood up to the Chinese government and sent a message that no matter how powerful you are, peace cannot be sold.

Even if your own people do not recognize you, the world commends your efforts. Congratulations Mr. Lui!