2010 Nobel Peace Prize
| The Nobel Peace Prize | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | Outstanding contributions to peace |
| Date | 10 December 2010 |
| Location | Oslo |
| Country | Norway |
| Presented by | Norwegian Nobel Committee |
| Reward(s) | 10 million SEK ($1.5M) |
| First awarded | 1901 |
| 2010 laureate | Liu Xiaobo |
| Official website | Nobelprize.org |
The 2010 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to imprisoned Chinese human rights activist Liu Xiaobo "for his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China". The laureate, once an eminent scholar, was reportedly little-known inside the People's Republic of China (PRC) at the time of the award due to official censorship; he is a veteran of the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, and a co-author of the Charter 08 manifesto for which he was sentenced to 11 years in prison on 25 December 2009. Liu, who was backed by Václav Havel and Desmond Tutu, received the award among a record field of more than 200 nominees.
The decision, while widely praised by foreign intellectuals and politicians, was attacked by the Chinese government and the state media. A number of countries, including Saudi Arabia and Russia, also denounced the award and what they regarded as interference in China's domestic affairs. Following the announcement, official censorship was applied within China—on the Internet, television, and in print media. The government strongly denounced the award, and summoned the Norwegian ambassador in Beijing to make a formal protest. The Chinese authorities arrested citizens who attempted to celebrate. Liu's wife was put under house-arrest before the decision of the Nobel Committee was announced.
Chinese diplomats moved to pressure other countries not to attend the award ceremony, which was scheduled for 10 December. Western missions in Oslo received warning letters from their Chinese counterparts; the deputy foreign minister also warned countries of "the consequences". In December, the Chinese foreign ministry continued the rhetorical assault, claiming "more than 100 countries and international organisations [had] expressed explicit support of China's position". In the end, 46 countries attended of the 65 invited (People's Republic of China and 19 other nations declined invitations). China's official news agency, Xinhua, attacked the West for its "Cold-War or even colonial mentality", and for daring to "regard themselves as the judge, the teacher [who] assume that they can forever distort the fact and block the truth by using political maneuvers." Strong rhetoric and denunciations of the West continued from official sources until after the ceremony.
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