Enjoy Chinese dissident Liu wins Nobel Peace Prize

Chinese dissident Liu wins Nobel Peace Prize
Imprisoned Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo won the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for ''his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China'' - a prize likely to enrage the Chinese government, which warned the Nobel committee not to honour him.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee chairman Thorbjoern Jagland said Liu Xiaobo (LEE-o SHAo-boh) was a symbol for the fight for human rights in China.

"China has become a big power in economic terms as well as political terms, and it is normal that big powers should be under criticism," Jagland said.

It was the first Nobel for the Chinese dissident community since it resurfaced after the country's communist leadership launched economic, but not political reforms three decades ago. The win could jolt a current debate among the leadership and the elite over whether China should begin democratic reforms and if so how quickly.

Unlike some in China's highly fractured and persecuted dissident community, the 54-year-old Liu has been an ardent advocate for peaceful, gradual political change, rather than a violent confrontation with the government.

The document he co-authored, Charter 08, called for greater freedoms and an end to the Communist Party's political dominance. It was an intentional echo of Charter 77, the famous call for human rights in then-Czechoslovakia that led to the 1989 Velvet Revolution that swept away communist rule.

"The democratisation of Chinese politics can be put off no longer," Charter 08 says.
Thousands of Chinese signed Charter 08, and the Communist Party took the document as a direct challenge.

Police arrested Liu hours before Charter 08 was due to be released in December 2008. Given a brief trial last Christmas Day, Liu was convicted of subversion for writing Charter 08 and other political tracts and sentenced to 11 years in prison.

In a year with a record 237 nominations for the peace prize, Liu had been considered a favourite, with open support from winners Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama and others.
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Watches Jailed Liu Xiaobo wins 2010 Nobel Peace Prize

Jailed Liu Xiaobo wins 2010 Nobel Peace Prize


Oslo: Imprisoned Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo won the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for "his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights" — a prize likely to enrage the Chinese government, which had warned the Nobel committee not to honour him.

Thorbjoern Jagland, the Norwegian Nobel Committee chairman, said Liu Xiaobo was a symbol for the fight for human rights in China and the government should expect that its policies face scrutiny.

"China has become a big power in economic terms as well as political terms, and it is normal that big powers should be under criticism," Jagland said.

Unlike some in China's highly fractured and persecuted dissident community, the 54-year-old Liu has been an ardent advocate for peaceful, gradual political change, rather than a violent confrontation with the government.

In China, broadcasts of CNN, which is available in tourist hotels, upmarket foreign hotels and places where foreigners gather, went black during the Nobel announcement and when reports about the award later aired.



China's Foreign Ministry did not immediately comment, but a spokeswoman said recently that choosing Liu would go against the prize's aims.

"The person you just mentioned was sentenced to jail by Chinese judicial authorities for violating Chinese law. I think his acts are completely contrary to the aspirations of the Nobel Peace Prize," said spokeswoman Jiang Yu.

It was the first Nobel for the Chinese dissident community since it resurfaced after the country's communist leadership launched economic, but not political reforms three decades ago. The win could jolt a current debate among the leadership and the elite over whether China should begin democratic reforms and if so how quickly.

The Nobel citation said China's new status a big economic and political power must entail increased responsibility.
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The peak of the new Skyscraper near Empire State Building wins backing

Skyscraper near Empire State Building wins backing

The peak of the new building (centre) will fall just short of the top of the Empire State Building's broadcast tower
A new 67-storey skyscraper has won the approval of the New York authorities despite efforts to stop the construction by the owner of the Empire State Building.

The full city council backed the 15 Penn Plaza by a 47-1 vote.

The office building will stand nearly as tall as the 102-storey Empire State Building (ESB), two blocks away.

ESB owner Anthony Malkin had argued the new building would ruin the "uniqueness" of the city's skyline.

But New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Manhattan should embrace new investments, adding: "Anybody that builds a building in New York City changes its skyline.

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This is not about banning tall buildings, but about preserving the very uniqueness of the New York City skyline”

Anthony Malkin, Owner
Empire State Building
"We don't have to run around to every other owner and apologize," Mr Bloomberg told a news conference.

"One guy owns a building, and he'd like to have it be the only tall building. I'm sorry that's not the real world," he added.

A spokesman for the building's developer said the building would be an "an outstanding addition to New York's skyline".

In a statement, Mr Malkin said: "This is not about banning tall buildings, but about preserving the very uniqueness of the New York City skyline."

The Empire State Building, which stands 1,250ft (381m), was the tallest building in New York City until the construction of the World Trade Center in Manhattan's Financial District in 1970.

The building, built in 1931, once again held the title following the 9/11 attacks.

The new skyscraper will stand 1,190ft-tall (363m). Its development is still in the planning stages.
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