This morning, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Liu Xiaobo, who is serving 11 years in a Chinese prison for calling for human rights and democratization in China. CNN reports:
Liu was sentenced in 2009 for inciting subversion of state power. He is the co-author of Charter 08, a call for political reform and human rights, and was an adviser to the student protesters at Tiananmen Square in 1989
It’s really exciting to see a Chinese person receive worldwide recognition for his efforts in championing human and civil rights, particularly when it comes to America where fears of Chinese economic growth, thereby fueling anti-Chinese hysteria.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe that Liu Xiaobo may also be the first ethnically Chinese person to individually win the Nobel Peace Prize (which makes him something of a first), although he’s not the first Nobel Peace Prize laureate to be awarded the prize in part for their efforts against Communist regimes in Asia. Other Asian Nobel Peace Prize laureates are:
- 2000: Kim Dae-Jung (Korean)
- 1991: Aung San Suu Kyi (Burmese)
- 1989: Dalai Lama (Tibetan)
- 1979: Mother Teresa (Albanian/Indian)
