Nobel Peace Prize to Liu Xiaobo

(Oslo, Norway) The 2010 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to Chinese pro-democracy activist Liu Xiaobo and the leadership in Beijing is not amused.

In China, broadcasts of CNN, which is available in tourist hotels, upmarket foreign hotels and places where foreigners gather, went black during the Nobel announcement and when reports about the award later aired.

The Foreign Ministry said in a statement Friday that the award should have gone to promoting international friendship and disarmament.

“Liu Xiaobo is a criminal who has been sentenced by Chinese judicial departments for violating Chinese law,” it said. Awarding the peace prize to Liu “runs completely counter to the principle of the prize and is also a blasphemy to the peace prize.”

It said the decision would damage bilateral relations between China and Norway. It did not give any details.

Interesting, eh? Congratulations to Mr. Xiaobo who is stuck in a Chinese prison doing an 11-year stretch for writing about free speech and multi-party elections.