NORWAY: Nobel head says Liu's prize based on "universal values"

Record ID: 376637

  • Title: NORWAY: Nobel head says Liu's prize based on "universal values"
  • Date: 10th December 2010
  • Summary: OSLO, NORWAY (DECEMBER 9, 2010) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF NOBEL PEACE PRIZE FLAGS IN CITY CENTRE PEACE PRIZE FLAG WITH PALACE IN THE BACKGROUND CHAIRMAN OF THE NORWEGIAN NOBEL COMMITTEE, THORBJOERN JAGLAND, AND SECRETARY TO THE NORWEGIAN NOBEL COMMITTEE, GEIR LUNDESTAD, ADDRESSING REPORTERS (SOUNDBITE) (English) CHAIRMAN OF THE NORWEGIAN NOBEL COMMITTEE, THORBJOERN JAGLAN
  • Embargoed: 25th December 2010 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Norway, Norway
  • Country: Norway
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVA2ZP67P1L1EOYXV7RRMWEMC8L1
  • Story Text: The Nobel Peace Prize panel on Thursday (December 9) defended its award to jailed dissident Liu Xiaobo as based on "universal values", rejecting Beijing's accusation that it is trying force Western ideas on China.
    China maintained its combative tone on the eve of the prize ceremony in Oslo, and announced the award of its own "Confucius Peace Prize" to former Taiwan vice-president Lien Chan, though his office said he was unaware of the award.
    China jailed Liu last Christmas Day for 11 years for subversion of state power and for being the lead author of Charter 08, a manifesto calling for democratic reform in the one-party state.
    Nobel Committee Chairman, Thorbjoern Jagland, told a news conference the decision to award Liu was not an act of protest.
    "The universal rights, explained in the universal declaration of human rights, are not Western values, are not Western standards. They are global standards applied to every country of the world that are members of the United Nations. So we are not advocating certain Western values. I have seen that somebody are trying to make a divide between the so-called Western countries that are upholding these values and standards and others. But actually all the dissidents in China they are advocating over common universal rights," he told a news conference in Oslo.
    His comments were unlikely to placate Beijing, where Communist Party ideologists consider "universal values" to be codewords for Western liberalisation.
    Jagland said the Nobel Committee had expected the strong reactions from China and that this year's peace prize has proven to be one of its most influential of all times.
    "After this prize (is presented) the pressure from the outside world will be heavy. It will be quite difficult for many political leaders not to raise human rights issues in China when they meet with the Chinese leaders. And I think also that the prize and why the prize came will be spreading in the Chinese society," he added.
    China, which views criticism of its human rights record as a bid to contain its growing might, has flexed its economic muscle in drumming up support for a boycott of the Oslo award ceremony for Liu.
    Most of the 18 states joining the boycott have strong commercial ties with with China or share its hostility towards Western human rights pressure.
    "The latest developments are that two of the countries that said that they would not come, they are coming after all. And these are Ukraine and the Philippines. One country that had not given us a reply, Algeria, has declined the invitation. And we believe that Argentina will not be coming or at least be represented by the ambassador and probably not be represented at the ceremony," Secretary to the Nobel Committee Geir Lundestad said.
    Jagland added that nations with economic ties with China should appreciate the necessity of improving human rights within the nation.
    "We appreciate of course very much the economic development of China in the last two-three decades and we benefit a lot from it now. But in the long-run we are all interested in seeing political reforms, because if there is no political reforms in China the danger is that a new social and political crisis will arise inside China, which will harm us all. So everybody that wants to do business they should be in favour of political reforms in China, so that economic development can go further," he said.
    The award ceremony will take place in the City Hall at 1200 GMT on Friday (December 10).
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