UN rights chief Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said Thursday he plans to meet with Chinese officials to push for assurances that the widow of late dissident Liu Xiaobo will be allowed to leave China. Zeid came under fierce criticism from Beijing for his tribute to the Nobel laureate as a “principled champion” who “was jailed … Read more
Under the shadow of heavy police surveillance, around 20 close friends of China’s late Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo have held a defiant private memorial in Beijing. Since the prominent democracy activist died of liver cancer in custody last week, his Chinese supporters say they have been barred from leaving their homes or organising commemorative events, … Read more
Hundreds turned out in Hong Kong Wednesday night to pay their respects to late Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo, the pro-democracy Chinese dissident whose death in custody shocked the world. Liu, a government critic and thorn in the side of the authorities for decades, died last week aged 61 after losing a battle with cancer, more … Read more
When China allowed Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo to die in police custody, it made a bet that world governments were more invested in improving trade ties than defending political dissidents. Even as Beijing has stepped up its crackdown on civil society, activists say, its trade partners have largely stepped down from their soap boxes. Lured … Read more
Exiled Tiananmen Square student protest leader Wu’er Kaixi said on Friday the world had “failed to save” Nobel peace laureate Liu Xiaobo, who he described as his mentor. Wu’er is one of the best-known figures from the pro-democracy movement which took over the square in Beijing in 1989, prompting a bloody crackdown in which at … Read more
As Liu Xiaobo braced for his verdict, the late Chinese democracy activist penned a moving statement declaring his love for his wife while telling his jailers: “I have no enemies.” But the authorities were unmoved by the conciliatory words from a writer who had been a thorn in their side for years, and they sentenced … Read more
China’s most famous political prisoner, the Nobel laureate and democracy icon Liu Xiaobo, has died at the age of 61. The Chinese intellectual and activist, who championed non-violent resistance as a way of overcoming “forceful tyranny”, is the first Nobel peace prize winner to die in custody since German pacifist Carl von Ossietzky, the 1935 recipient, who died under … Read more
US President Donald Trump’s administration called on China Sunday to respect human rights and release from prison those jailed for trying to keep alive the memory of the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy movement. US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson recalled the “violent suppression” of peaceful protests in and around the vast square in the heart of … Read more
Thousands gathered at a candlelit vigil in Hong Kong Sunday night to mark 28 years since China’s bloody Tiananmen Square crackdown but the annual event is struggling for support among younger generations. Semi-autonomous Hong Kong is the only place on Chinese soil to see a major commemoration of the military’s brutal crushing of pro-democracy protests … Read more
Thousands were expected at a candlelit vigil in Hong Kong Sunday night to mark 28 years since China’s bloody Tiananmen Square crackdown but the annual event is struggling for support among younger generations. Semi-autonomous Hong Kong is the only place on Chinese soil to see a major commemoration of the military’s brutal crushing of pro-democracy … Read more
Former Chinese foreign minister Qian Qichen, who rebuilt relations with the international community after the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, has died at the age of 89, state media said Wednesday. Qian died Tuesday in Beijing, Xinhua news agency quoted a government statement as saying. It described him as “a time-tested and loyal communist soldier and … Read more
The world’s first museum dedicated to China’s Tiananmen Square crackdown will once again open its doors in Hong Kong after a months-long closure as the city prepares to mark the 20th anniversary of its handover to Beijing. The June 4th Museum closed its doors last July after organisers said they were being targeted for political … Read more