10/8/10 CHina (ChinaAid) extends congratulations to the winner of the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize — Liu Xiaobo. The winner of the award was announced at today 11 a.m. local time in Oslo, Norway. He is currently serving a lengthy prison term for his human rights work.
The Chinese dissident was sentenced to 11 years of imprisonment in 2009, charged with attempting to subvert China’s government. He is widely known for drafting Charter 08, an appeal to the Chinese government to promote democracy and human rights. He was nominated for the award by Vaclav Havel, the president of the nation formerly known as the Czech Republic (now Czechoslovakia). Liu was inspired by Havel’s co-authoring of Charter 77, and assisted in drafting the bid for peace that would lead to his imprisonment.
Other Chinese contenders for the prize were Chen Guangcheng, the blind human rights activist, and Gao Zhisheng, the Christian human rights lawyer who has been missing since April of this year.
The president of ChinaAid, Bob Fu, and the association’s staff members heartily congratulate Liu Xiaobo, and applaud the decision of the Nobel Committee.
