Nobel Peace Prize Winner: Liu Xiaobo

It’s probably apt that the recent glamour and prestige that has become associated with the Nobel Peace Prize will be lost on this years winner.

Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo has been detained in his Beijing home since December 2008 devoid of any communication with the outside world.

His crime was to establish Charter 08. Inspired by Václav Havel and the Czech 'velvet revolution' in 1977 he wrote about the imperative need for democratic reform in China.

Lest we forget that the freedoms we have do not come for free  Liu Xiaobo is a timely reminder.

By Ashok Viswanathan