Chinese Government Releases Political Prisoner Liu Xiaobo

Pro-democracy activists hold photos of detained activists and those kept under surveillance including Liu Xia, left, and her husband and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Liu Xiaobo, center, and Ding Zilin, founder of Tiananmen Mothers, during a protest in Hong Kong, Friday, June 30, 2017. Chinese President Xi Jinping landed in Hong Kong Thursday to mark the 20th anniversary of Beijing taking control of the former British colony, accompanied by a formidable layer of security as authorities showed little patience for pro-democracy protests. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
Pro-democracy activists hold photos of detained activists and those kept under surveillance including Liu Xia, left, and her husband and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Liu Xiaobo, center, and Ding Zilin, founder of Tiananmen Mothers, during a protest in Hong Kong, Friday, June 30, 2017. Chinese President Xi Jinping landed in Hong Kong Thursday to mark the 20th anniversary of Beijing taking control of the former British colony, accompanied by a formidable layer of security as authorities showed little patience for pro-democracy protests. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
Pro-democracy activists hold photos of detained activists and those kept under surveillance including Liu Xia, left, and her husband and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Liu Xiaobo, center, and Ding Zilin, founder of Tiananmen Mothers, during a protest in Hong Kong, Friday, June 30, 2017. Chinese President Xi Jinping landed in Hong Kong Thursday to mark the 20th anniversary of Beijing taking control of the former British colony, accompanied by a formidable layer of security as authorities showed little patience for pro-democracy protests. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
Pro-democracy activists hold photos of detained activists and those kept under surveillance including Liu Xia, left, and her husband and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Liu Xiaobo, center, and Ding Zilin, founder of Tiananmen Mothers, during a protest in Hong Kong, Friday, June 30, 2017. Chinese President Xi Jinping landed in Hong Kong Thursday to mark the 20th anniversary of Beijing taking control of the former British colony, accompanied by a formidable layer of security as authorities showed little patience for pro-democracy protests. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Chinese Government Releases Political Prisoner Liu Xiaobo

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The Chinese government released political prisoner and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Liu Xiaobo, last week on medical parole, after he was diagnosed with late-stage liver cancer. Liu was arrested in 2008 after co-drafting a pro-democracy manifesto called ‘Charter 08’. The drafters called for an end to one-party rule and more consciousness in human rights.

After a year in detention, Liu was sentenced in 2009 to 11 years in prison for ‘inciting the subversion of state power’. We’ll discuss the Liu Xiaobo case and other Chinese dissidents with Sophie Richardson, China director at Human Rights Watch.