LADAKH: His Holiness the Dalai Lama has expressed concern, in a letter dated 28 June, for Liu Xiaobo, the Chinese Nobel Peace Laureate who has been released from prison after being diagnosed with late-stage cancer.
“I was filled with joy to hear that fellow Nobel Peace Laureate Liu Xiaobo had been released from prison, and then filled with sadness to learn that he is in such poor health,”His Holiness wrote.
“Liu Xiaobo is one of China’s most prominent prisoners of conscience. It is my belief that the initiatives he took, and for which he has been severely punished, would have led to a more harmonious, stable and prosperous China, which in turn would have contributed to a more peaceful world. I was personally moved as well as encouraged when hundreds of Chinese intellectuals and concerned citizens, inspired by Liu Xiaobo, signed Charter 08 calling for democracy, freedom and rule of law in China.”
“Many people who came to see me ask me again and again to pray for his well-being.”
“I hope that Liu Xiaobo will now be provided with the best medical treatment available and offer prayers that it will be a success,” His Holiness expressed.
Liu, 61, was arrested in 2008 after writing a pro-democracy manifesto called Charter 08, in which he called for an end to one-party rule and improvements in human rights. Following a year in detention and a two-hour trial, he was sentenced to 11 years in December 2009 for inciting subversion of state power. On 26 June 2017, he was granted medical parole after being diagnosed with terminal liver cancer.
