The Insulting Nobel Peace Prize

[rae]

 those ppl who awarded this very chinese Liu Xiaobo, who can tell me what those ppl want?! Christ, thats insulting!

[rgeczi]

Anyone that wishes peace, happiness, freedom of speech, etc, should be honoured, especially fighting against great odds.  My hat off to him.

Naturally any news in China will speak of this man as "the devil" or "against China".  How can someone be against China yet care about China so much?  Welcome to Chinese media propaganda.  It ensnared you, and a whole other bunch of people.

[rae]

confused me more now, he is in the prison. probably we should look at both sides, chinese's and other countries' views. i will check the english then. the chinese news said The nobel association is sort of challenging sth. of china.  Dse every country around the world  do the same sort of thing to his ppl

[Joeyhf]

Nobel price is in good hands.   Chinese media should inform more about people like Liu Xiaobo and chinese people should be proud of him .Sad that people in China are not informed well.  

[Aussie Mike]

Same kind of debate occured in 1993 when Nelson Mandella was nominated.
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1993/

Facts on the Nobel Peace Prize
On 27 November 1895, Alfred Nobel signed his last will and testament, giving the largest share of his fortune to a series of prizes, the Nobel Prizes. As described in Nobel's will, one part was dedicated to "the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses".

Learn more about the Nobel Peace Prize from 1901 to 2010.

[rgeczi]

@Rae, there is a reason he is in prison, and being in prison in China isn't always as black and white as it may seem.  Just think, someone in North Korea stands up and says, "I hate Kim Jong Il, and I wish we had a democracy", I wish we can get him out of office because he is running the country down to the ground".  Do you think that person would be jailed, and if so, do you think it would be the correct thing to do?  Sure that person would be thrown in prison, saying it violates the "laws of the land", but that is gov. talk for "STFU, we run this country, and you all live as we say, otherwise off to jail you go".  So even though he "broke the law", I think you can see it wasn't fair at all.

Now, to this situation, from what I know, all this guy wants is to have freedom for Chinese people, and a list of other things.  All the stuff on there is peaceful, and to my knowledge, breaking China apart or whatever isn't on his agenda.  So clearly, I can not see what the heck is wrong with this, unless you are afraid to loosen your grip on power, which is what's happening here.  Why do you think people wage wars in this world, in most part to keep their power, whether it be global, or in their own country.  It's fairly simple to see.  So, to be honest, it has nothing to do with the Nobel prize as the issue, there is a more underlying issue that the Chinese leaders have to come to grips with.  Nobel prize just put things into the spotlight a bit more.

Just compare:

Canada - no internet censorship

China - internet censorship out the wahoo (Facebook, Twitter, etc)

Do you honestly think that Facebook is a terrorist organization waiting to wreak havoc on Chinese people?  So, why the ban on it?  It's called, controlling information, and in the bigger picture, controlling people, to hold on to power.  Again, it's fairly easy to see.

[lionel]

@Rae, there is a reason he is in prison, and being in prison in China isn't always as black and white as it may seem.  Just think, someone in North Korea stands up and says, "I hate Kim Jong Il, and I wish we had a democracy", I wish we can get him out of office because he is running the country down to the ground".  Do you think that person would be jailed, and if so, do you think it would be the correct thing to do?  Sure that person would be thrown in prison, saying it violates the "laws of the land", but that is gov. talk for "STFU, we run this country, and you all live as we say, otherwise off to jail you go".  So even though he "broke the law", I think you can see it wasn't fair at all.

Now, to this situation, from what I know, all this guy wants is to have freedom for Chinese people, and a list of other things.  All the stuff on there is peaceful, and to my knowledge, breaking China apart or whatever isn't on his agenda.  So clearly, I can not see what the heck is wrong with this, unless you are afraid to loosen your grip on power, which is what's happening here.  Why do you think people wage wars in this world, in most part to keep their power, whether it be global, or in their own country.  It's fairly simple to see.  So, to be honest, it has nothing to do with the Nobel prize as the issue, there is a more underlying issue that the Chinese leaders have to come to grips with.  Nobel prize just put things into the spotlight a bit more.

Just compare:

Canada - no internet censorship

China - internet censorship out the wahoo (Facebook, Twitter, etc)

Do you honestly think that Facebook is a terrorist organization waiting to wreak havoc on Chinese people?  So, why the ban on it?  It's called, controlling information, and in the bigger picture, controlling people, to hold on to power.  Again, it's fairly easy to see.

I kind of wish that the forum have "Like" feature like facebook.

I like this post. They block youtube too ><

[Aussie Mike]

The opinins of Chinese who live outside China are often different to those who have only lived in China, they usually change their views within a fairly short time as they can access information on both sides of the arguements.

We foreigners have a saying in China, "the only news YOU hear is good news", or rather good news for the government. Much of the news from China that you can find around the world is not allowed to be published in Chinese.

Did you know there have been many protests around China regarding the Japanese island issue and to free LXB. None of these were violent protests, the police were there but none of it was reported in Chinese language as protests are not encouraged.

Find out more by searching in English, not Chinese.


Liu Xiaobo Inspiring Communists Toward Free Speech
By ThirdAge News Staff Posted October 15, 2010 9:55 AM.

Liu Xiaobo, the recent recipient of the Nobel Peace Price, has been languising inside of a Chinese prison for two years because of a letter he'd written called Charter 08. In the letter, Xiaobo called for the Chinese government to put an end to censorship. Now it seems Xiaobo's position is gaining ground.

Retired Communist Party heavyweights in China have confirmed they published a strongly-worded letter calling on the government to abolish censorship.

The letter -- composed by, among others, a former secretary to Mao Zedong and an ex-publisher of the People's Daily newspaper -- began circulating almost like a petition Oct. 1, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday.

Chinese observers speculate the letter, sent via Internet, will not be suppressed easily because of how important the signers were in the Communist Party.

"These are important people who signed the letter with their names, titles and locations, requesting freedom of expression," Li Datong, a retired editor from the Communist Youth Daily who is friends with the organizers, said this week. "Clearly, they are not afraid. The trend cannot be stopped."

"When our country was founded in 1949, our people cried out that they had been liberated, that they were now their own masters," the letter states. "But even today, 61 years after the founding of our nation, after 30 years of opening and reform, we have not yet attained the freedom of speech and press to the degree enjoyed by the people of Hong Kong under colonial rule.

"Not only the average citizen, but even the most senior leaders of the Communist Party, have no freedom of speech," the letter continued.

..

Read more: http://www.thirdage.com/news/liu-xiaobo-inspiring-communists-toward-free-speech_10-15-2010#ixzz12dPXMynA

By the way, I stand or responsible freedom of speech.

[Hills]

Nobel peace prize from who? and to who?...On what basis has the credibility of the Nobel Peace committee surpass that of a sovereign authority. How many nationalities form and include as members of the committee?? is there any Chinese.....why not??

Come to think of it, has there ever been a noble laureate in a science discipline from china?? but i tell u what go check your notes, Chinese dissidents have been awarded noble prizes within the science discipline. So is it all about nationality rather than materialism?

How political has the Nobel peace committee become...Barely few months after Barrack took office, he was surprisingly wake up an awarded one. How political is this

I do not  have much inside about the whats and hows around China but I ll bet my last coin that the Nobel prize committee is more political than the white house...So lets  beat it

[Aussie Mike]

Here are some links you may be interested in.

A biography
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/09/world/09nobel.html

Why Mahatma Gandi didn't receive a Nobel Peace Prize.
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/articles/gandhi/index.html

Mother Teresa
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1979/teresa-bio.html

Australia's first saint - Mary MacKillop officially declared a saint
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/10/17/3040558.htm

[Hills]

Yeah Mike,I went through the notes suggested and found interest in this line

Up to 1960, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded almost exclusively to Europeans and Americans. "In retrospect, the horizon of the Norwegian Nobel Committee may seem too narrow. "

Now just one doubt,How much has the horizon of this committee expanded within the years,Maybe you can de-brief me more  on this question

[Aussie Mike]

My view it that they are aware todays international laws focus on anti-discrimination.
For the sake of peace they can't be seen as racist.

Reflect on the pre-war culture of the Norwegan regions.
Royalistic, aristocratic...

Now reflect on what was happening in the 1960's.
Hippy, Peace, Love the World, Conflict. Peace between Black and White, Anti-apartide.

Nobel Peace Prizes have often been foresighted.
Their horizions have broadened enough to include another real hero.

I have to agree Obama has not earnt it yet, but he is the first black American president.
That in itself is a symbol of peace.

[Andy72]

i think that the most interesting part of this post is the view of Chinese people in China, when they are not spending much tiem reading international news..
i would be more interested in more comments from locals..
instead on a debat about how political is becoming the prize itself.. or controversial.. but more than the white house? not that difficult.. i don't think the female members go down on the male ones in the nobel committee.. in the white house, on the other hand... 

it is also not the first time that the prize is awarded to a person in prison, that therefore cannot receive it..

the prize itself does not demand anything to chinese country, in political way, so it is actually not interferring with the sovereign authority!! i do not see your point there!

i am usually more interested, for my education, in the physics awards, and sometimes you read of prizes given to people that in their home countries are considered average or less in their field.. so, what shoudl they do? burn their research? extreme comparison.. but still..

hope some other local chinese will add some comments!

cheers

andy

[Aussie Mike]

I waiting for Rae's response  

Hey Andy
Did you notice the new rankings?
No, Jr. Member any more.

Apologies for the deleted post. It was by mistake, I realised as soon as the delete was permanent.
I've been thinning out posts of non-active useless posts, when I realised yours was active and useful.
Too late. I'm sure it was the only one though.

Again, very sorry.

[Hills]

Hey Andy,
You seem to refute any assimilation between the nobel peace prize, sovereignty and politics, here you surprise me. Again you say

the prize itself does not demand anything to Chinese country, in political way, so it is actually not interfering with the sovereign authority!!

,
Are you really serious???If your point is true, then what really is  the raison d’etre of the nobel peace prize..Is it just about the 10,000SEK,OR the title embedded to it.

Nah I don't think so.
It's 100% and absolutely intended to affect and influence the functionality , norms and ideals of a system .It is absolutely  a political prize, maybe not for the science discipline but this one in question is.As Mike said,Obama was given one,not cos he deserved it but cos that can greatly help him in his job as an influential world political leader.What's more, doesnt China,at this time deserve the award for its massive contribution in redeeming the messed stereotype world economy??Why not look at it from that angle????As far as I now,there can be no peace without a strong economy.China deserves a Nobel Peace prize.

Now how did the Chinese authorities react to the announcement??? Was it a question of sovereignty.Maybe we should start with a clear definition of that term.......

oh man, the NOBEL PEACE PRIZE is the highest messed up political prize there is.Go ask Obama