News

By Kathleen Gilbert

CHONGQING, China, October 27, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A Chinese woman who tweeted that she would demonstrate her support for imprisoned human rights advocate and Nobel peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo was kidnapped by Chinese officials in the middle of the night, according to online friends.

Freelance designer Mou Yanxi has reportedly returned home, but her mobile phone and computer have been confiscated after she stated on Twitter that she planned to carry a banner with the words “Congratulations, Uncle Xiaobo!”

The tweet, according to a Chinese blogger cited by the UK's Guardian newspaper, led to officials taking Mou from her house at about 2:30am.

Another Twitter user cited by the Guardian, warned friends against trying to communicate with Mou through her confiscated phone and computer. “Reminder for those who want to send her DM, emails or text messages – be cautious,” wrote Twitterer @newsinhcina.

Liu's honor by the Norwegian Nobel committee earlier this month has been a source of embarrassment for the Chinese government: Liu is serving an 11-year prison sentence for his role constructing Charter 08, a document that calls for freedom of religion, freedom of assembly, and other rights denied in the totalitarian state.

The Nobel committee has cited Liu's fight against China's human rights abuses as the reason for the award, and even stated that Liu's jailing tipped the scales in his favor.

Beijing officials have directly blasted the award as an insult to their country, while Chinese state-controlled media have painted the award as an attempt to foist Western values on China.

It is unclear whether any of Liu's family or friends will be allowed by the government to receive the Nobel prize in Oslo, Norway. Liu Xia, wife of Liu Xiaobo, has told the Associated Press – in brief conversations that slipped by Chinese officials – that all her travel outside her home, including grocery shopping, was controlled by the government.

Meanwhile, reports reveal that officials have begun cracking down on Liu's supporters and Charter 08 advocates to diminish the effect of the Nobel prize, both by detaining such individuals and cutting off their means of communication.

U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), a leading critic of China's human rights offenses, led six other lawmakers in February to request that the peace prize be jointly awarded to two other Chinese human rights activists who have challenged the government's draconian one-child policy.

Chen Guangcheng and Gao Zhisheng have both suffered abuse at the hands of the Chinese government for exposing the stories of forced abortions and sterilizations routinely carried out in the country as part of its massive population control program.

Chen, a blind self-taught lawyer recently released from prison, is nonetheless in extremely poor health and hindered by Chinese officials from receiving adequate medical care, according to his wife. Gao, another attorney and an associate of Chen's, has gone missing since February 2009 under suspicious circumstances.