The first rule of medicine is, according to Hippocrates, to do no harm. But if the Chinese government is the doctor and its international image the patient, then the patient has some real problems now.
I just received an email from Freedom Now, a Washington DC-based non-profit that represents newly-announced Nobel Peace Prize Winner Liu Xiabao, telling me that his wife has been detained.
According to the statement in the email: 'The Chinese government is detaining Liu Xia, the wife of the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize recipient, at her Beijing apartment. She has not been charged with a crime, however, she is no longer allowed to leave her apartment. Friends and media are not allowed to enter her apartment. She is also no longer allowed to use her mobile phone.'
I contacted Beth Schwanke, Legislative Counsel at Freedom Now, who has just confirmed that this is the case.
The news follows reports that a number of dissidents and intellectuals have been detained since Liu was announced the winner Friday. The Guardian, among others, reported today:
'More than 30 Chinese intellectuals have been detained, warned or placed under house arrest in a crackdown to stifle celebration of the Nobel peace prize being awarded to the imprisoned democracy advocate Liu Xiaobo.'
The report also noted there was already talk of his wife having been detained, but at that time she appeared to have at least some freedom of movement, having Tweeted after visiting her husband in jail to inform him he had been awarded the prize. With the apparent restriction on the use of her mobile phone though, this no longer seems to be the case.
I'll keep you posted if I hear anymore, but it's difficult to see any real utility in these kinds of moves.
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ngoa long
Is it the so-called Eastern ‘cultural’ way of treating its innocent people of the Communist China? The Westerners may not understand the ‘Eastern culture or its philosophy of life’, but even an ordinary Easterner like me can hardly understand either, why a ‘ people’s government’ could treat its citizens like this! Any regime against its people’s will some day will end up in…’hell’!!
NL
John Chan
Well said. Any regime against its people’s will some day will end up in … hell. It surely has happened in China time and again. People in China definitely will not hesitate to throw a bad government into trashcan. Whether its government needs to be overthrown or not, it’s up the people in China to decide, not any foreigner is entitled to say or comment. When any foreigner intends to influence people in China on the judgment of their government by any means is called sabotaging which is the expression of imperialism. People interfere other nations internal affair on whatever grounds is a person hiding a dagger behind his back but carrying a smiling mask on his face. If a government is unable to prevent a bad apple from spoiling a barrel of good apples, in this case the good apples represent the results of modernization gained by the people in China via blood and sweat, that government is surely incompetent and not a good government. The US will use the Homeland Security to pick up the people like Liu Xiaobo and Co. in the name of terrorist and lock them up in the Guantanamo Bay.
SE962582C
Perhaps some strict Bed-Rests are indeed in Order!
Not trying or attempting to be too unkind or too unsympathetic of course, but the Woman and the Lady, of whom she does not look or appear so typical of a Woman, and not too typical-looking of a Woman, by the way, to put it as mildly as one can, but one must also add, does also look so sickly as if she is actually and indeed suffering from either or both Cancer, Carcinoma, Malignancies and Neoplasm, and/or from Hepatic and/or Renal disease(s)/failure(s), even long even before the events of the years 2007 and 2008.