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Liu Xiaobo: China's most prominent dissident dies Liu Xiaobo: China's most prominent dissident dies
(35 minutes later)
Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo, who was China's most prominent human rights and democracy advocate, has died aged 61.Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo, who was China's most prominent human rights and democracy advocate, has died aged 61.
The activist was being treated for terminal liver cancer in a hospital in north-eastern China. The activist had been serving an 11-year prison term for "subversion" and was recently moved to a hospital due to a terminal liver cancer.
He had been transferred from prison last month, where he was serving an 11-year term for "subversion". A university professor turned tireless rights campaigner, Mr Liu was branded a criminal by authorities.
A university professor turned tireless rights campaigner, Mr Liu was branded a criminal by authorities, and was repeatedly jailed throughout his life. The Nobel Committee said the Chinese government "bears a heavy responsibility" for the death.
He was also subject to severe restrictions when not in prison, while his wife, Liu Xia, was placed under house arrest. When not in prison, the campaigner was subject to severe restrictions while his wife, Liu Xia, was placed under house arrest.
In the weeks leading up to his death, Mr Liu's case became mired in international controversy. Who was he?
Several Western countries urged China to allow Mr Liu to leave the country to seek palliative care elsewhere. A German and an American doctor who recently visited and examined him in a hospital in Shenyang both said he would be able to travel abroad. Liu Xiaobo played a significant role in the Tiananmen protests of June 1989 which ended in bloodshed when they were quashed by troops.
But Chinese medical experts insisted that he was too ill to travel.
In a brief statement on its website, the Shenyang legal bureau said that Mr Liu had suffered multiple organ failure, and that efforts to save the activist had failed.
Mr Liu was a pro-democracy figurehead for activists outside mainland China, although many of his compatriots were unaware of his struggles because the authorities rigorously censored news about him.
The activist played a significant role in the Tiananmen protests of June 1989 which ended in bloodshed when they were quashed by troops.
He and other activists negotiated the safe exit of several hundred demonstrators, and have been credited with saving the protesters' lives.He and other activists negotiated the safe exit of several hundred demonstrators, and have been credited with saving the protesters' lives.
He was subsequently placed in a detention centre and released in 1991.He was subsequently placed in a detention centre and released in 1991.
Mr Liu's campaign to free those detained during Tiananmen landed him in a labour camp in north-eastern China for three years but he was permitted to marry poet Liu Xia there in 1996.
He was later freed, and continued to campaign for democracy.
The 11-year jail term he was serving when he died was handed down in 2009 after he compiled, with other intellectuals, the Charter 08 manifesto.
This was a call for an end to one-party rule and the introduction of multi-party democracy. Mr Liu was found guilty of trying to overthrow the state.
Mr Liu was a pro-democracy figurehead for activists outside mainland China, although many of his compatriots were unaware of his struggles because the authorities rigorously censored news about him.
The dissident won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010 for his "long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China", but he was not permitted to travel to Norway to accept it.
He was the second person to receive the award while in prison - the other was the German pacifist Carl von Ossietzky, who won in 1935 while incarcerated in a Nazi concentration camp.
In a statement, the Nobel Committee added: "He was truly a prisoner of conscience and he paid the highest possible price for his relentless struggle."
Who was Liu Xiaobo?
Love that survived a labour camp
Analysis: The price of political defianceAnalysis: The price of political defiance
By Carrie Gracie, China editorBy Carrie Gracie, China editor
Chinese authorities refused Liu Xiaobo's dying request to be allowed to travel abroad for treatment. Instead he died as he had lived, under the close watch of the one-party state.Chinese authorities refused Liu Xiaobo's dying request to be allowed to travel abroad for treatment. Instead he died as he had lived, under the close watch of the one-party state.
The life and death of this Nobel laureate underline the cost of political defiance in China. Liu Xiaobo had enjoyed a comfortable early career as a university professor, but the massacre which followed the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests was the fork in his path.The life and death of this Nobel laureate underline the cost of political defiance in China. Liu Xiaobo had enjoyed a comfortable early career as a university professor, but the massacre which followed the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests was the fork in his path.
Where many gave up demanding democracy, he stood firm and was jailed repeatedly.Where many gave up demanding democracy, he stood firm and was jailed repeatedly.
When he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010, he was serving an 11-year prison sentence for subversion. A furious Beijing subsequently placed his wife under house arrest.When he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010, he was serving an 11-year prison sentence for subversion. A furious Beijing subsequently placed his wife under house arrest.
Only in a hospital ward in the last days of his life have this suffering couple been reunited, only to be parted again by his death.Only in a hospital ward in the last days of his life have this suffering couple been reunited, only to be parted again by his death.
More from Carrie GracieMore from Carrie Gracie
Mr Liu's campaign to free those detained during Tiananmen landed him in a labour camp in north-eastern China for three years but he was permitted to marry poet Liu Xia there in 1996. From prison to hospital
He was later freed, and continued to campaign for democracy. In the weeks leading up to his death, Mr Liu's case became mired in international controversy.
The 11-year jail term he was serving when he died was handed down in 2009 after he compiled, with other intellectuals, the Charter 08 manifesto. Several Western countries urged China to allow Mr Liu to leave the country to seek palliative care elsewhere. A German and an American doctor who recently visited and examined him in a hospital in Shenyang both said he would be able to travel abroad.
This was a call for an end to one-party rule and the introduction of multi-party democracy. Mr Liu was found guilty of trying to overthrow the state. Liu Xiaobo memorialised in social art
The dissident won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010 for his "long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China", but he was not permitted to travel to Sweden to accept it. But Chinese medical experts insisted that he was too ill to travel.
He was the second person to receive the award while in prison - the other was the German pacifist Carl von Ossietzky, who won in 1935 while incarcerated in a Nazi concentration camp. Mr Liu's condition deteriorated shortly after he was admitted to hospital, according to Shenyang's First Hospital of China Medical University.
In a statement, the Nobel Committee said the Chinese government "bears a heavy responsibility for his premature death".
Mr Liu's condition deteriorated shortly after he was admitted to hospital, according to the First Hospital of China Medical University in Shenyang.
It said several days of anti-infection and blood treatment had failed to halt his decline, and in the days leading up to his death he experienced organ failure and difficulty breathing on his own.It said several days of anti-infection and blood treatment had failed to halt his decline, and in the days leading up to his death he experienced organ failure and difficulty breathing on his own.
In a brief statement on its website, the Shenyang legal bureau said that Mr Liu had suffered multiple organ failure, and that efforts to save the activist had failed.