Chinese media downplays Liu's Nobel prize win
Beijing: While Liu Xiaobo made headlines
globally for winning the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize, China's state
media downplayed the news of the jailed dissident getting the
prestigious award.
While there was no mention of this news on the state
TV, the internet editions of state-run papers carried only
Chinese Foreign Ministry's terse reaction to the Nobel
Committee's decision.
China's official Xinhua news agency carried news of
the prize by headlining the government's angry reaction to it.
Even searches using the key words "Nobel Peace Prize"
and "Liu Xiaobo" brought up no results on Chinese web portals
Sina, Sohu and Baidu.
The evening news on China Central Television also did
not give anything on Liu and opened its bulletin with a story
about flooding on the southern island of Hainan.
54-year-old Liu, who was also a key leader in the
1989 Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests, was selected for
the prestigious award by the Nobel committee, rejecting
China's demand not to honour him.
Beijing condemned the Nobel committee's decision and
said that the coveted prize was granted to a "criminal."
China, which has a vast system of web censorship,
blocks access to any content the government deems
unacceptable, ranging from pornography to political dissent.
China summons Norway ambassador over Peace Prize
China today summoned Norway's
ambassador to protest at the Norwegian Nobel Committee's
decision to give the Peace Prize to Chinese dissident Liu
Xiaobo, the Norwegian government said.
“The Norwegian ambassador to China was asked to come
to the Chinese foreign ministry, where he was told of China's
disagreement and protest" over the Peace Prize pick, Ragnhild
Imerslund of the Norwegian foreign ministry told AFP.
In Oslo, China's ambassador asked to meet with
Norway's foreign ministry "to convey the same message," she
said.
PTI