Thursday, January 13, 2011

One Voice at a Time

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Free Speech

“I hope that I will be the last victim of China’s endless literary inquisitions and that from now on no one will be incriminated because of speech.

“Freedom of expression is the foundation of human rights, the source of humanity, and the mother of truth. To strangle freedom of speech is to trample on human rights, stifle humanity, and suppress truth.

“In order to exercise the right to freedom of speech conferred by the Constitution, one should fulfill the social responsibility of a Chinese citizen. There is nothing criminal in anything I have done. [But] if charges are brought against me because of this, I have no complaints.”

—Liu Xiaobo, imprisoned Chinese political dissident and 2010 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, statement to the Chinese court that sentenced him to 11 years in prison on Christmas Day 2009. URL

Image: Nobel Prize Committee Chairman Thorbjorn Jagland sits beside the empty chair reserved for Liu Xiabobo, who was not permitted to leave his cell in China to accept the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize.


Liu Xia, the wife of Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo, holds a photo of her husband during an interview in Beijing, October 3, 2010. Reuters


Editorial Comment: Honor lonely courage.



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1 comment:

  1. What is up with all the "free speech" news? Every other day it seems like people are complaining about free speech or they abuse it.

    Romina Nedakovic

    ReplyDelete