The Nobel Peace Prize is a worthless award, now associated with a politicization that wreaks of hypocrisy; do you remember the award to President Obama before his term had even really begun and to former Vice-President Gore, the arch global warming ideologue? This award to Liu Xiaobo is an insensitive snub to China and the Chinese people and there is little wonder that they feel offended.

As for how it will help Liu Xiaobo is beyond me!

China is right to demonstrate it's displeasure with an award that has no nuance, is without praise for many of the good things that China has done over the last 20 years and will do more harm than good for Liu Xiaobo and for the cause of those who wish through communication and thoughtful encouragement to present any matters of concern to the leadership in China.

A grim day for the West is about to dawn, a simple demonstrable award for it's moral deprivation.

"do you remember the award to President Obama before his term had even really begun "

I do not. Pray tell, in which parallel universe did that take place?
And remember your own words next time the Nobel committe gives such a "worthless" prize to a Chinese scientist. I count on your continuation to reject these worthless awards in the future.

The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the top honors in the world. If it wasn't so important, why would Beijing go to such extraordinary efforts to block the news. (Plus having a Chinese writer up there with a U.S. president isn't bad!)

This is the first time it has gone to a Chinese, and we should be proud. Outside the sphere of Beijing's state media, in places like Hong Kong, the local Chinese have been extremely supportive. Liu was on the front pages of all the papers this morning and on the TV news all night.

I doubt the average mainland Chinese was offended by Liu's award until the propaganda department started its smear campaign recently -- because almost nobody knows who he is. News of Liu and his writing are banned. A recent survey said that 85% of mainland Chinese university students wasn't familiar with him or his works. Whatever rage there is is, I'm afraid, mostly empty and pumped up by the official media.

Whether you like Liu or not, at least the Chinese people should be given the information to make up their own minds.

@ Nicodemus
China has a right to voice its displeasure, but not like this. They have kept his wife under house arrest, though she did nothing wrong. They have blocked the Internet even more. They tried to use their economic clout to pressure other countries to boycott -- to little success. Despite what Jiang Yu may say, only one major nation didn't show up -- Russia. The rest are basically rogue totalitarian states like North Korea and Myanmar.

The last time the Nobel was picked up by neither the winner nor a family member was in 1936. And the regime responsible for that was Nazi Germany.

China's over-reaction was wrong from an ethical point of view. But it was also unwise. Beijing has just re-inforced every negative stereotype that the world had about it.

Oops. That might have been 1935, marking the last time a government blocked both the winner or his family from picking up the prize.
The meaning, of course, remains the same.

Well China does have its good friends in its corner: Iran, North Korea, RUSSIA, Zimbabwe, Philippines, etc.

If China chooses to make its debut back into world relevancy after hundreds of years in the attic as a "sick man" with this crowd, I guess it's their own choice though part of me believes most Chinese people would squirm at the thought of being associated with the above gang.

I will concede that the UN is more and more irrelevant these days, however, when you have an organization that won't even send THE representative supposedly representing human rights to THE award recognizing advances in the name of humanity. Just proves the UN is now overstaffed by self serving bureaucrats that contribute nothing to anyone other than their salaries and a nice posting in NYC for a few years.

@ Nicodemus

Boom!

Only by being a politically engaged person to deny that the Nobel "Peace" Prize has acquired a political-ideological tint...

Perhaps Nobel committee can correct this distortion renaming the award, highlighting the political aspect embedded.

This is a jewel of a find by Joel, and one of the most fascinating footnotes to all the Liu controversy. The real point of this is the sly ingenuity of the bloggers in arriving at this wonderfully subversive little meme to express their sentiment and confound the censors. I frankly don't understand the comments here, which strike me as humorless and clueless.

Well, in lieu of no one else trivialising this with an absurd tangent, then I shall ... all praise be to the greatest Liu of all -- Lucy Liu.
Of course, in recognition of her charitable work raising funds for breast cancer research and education. Um, and UNICEF ...

The history of China, like many civilizations has been a painful one and particularly during the period of the warring states and beyond. The absence of cohesion and abrupt changes in governance and power has like a lot of other countries brought with it violence and bloodshed. The issue here must I suggest in material part be what means will ensure a future without that, bearing in mind then the lessons of the past and what will hinder progress that is peaceful and supportive of all that is good and not invoke any form of violent upheaval.

The French revolution, the British partitioning of India, the Hughuenot massacres in Europe, reveal all too clearly what can happen when change is too quick and violent. Rather then that any movement for change be considered considerate and reasoned without unnecessary insult.

On a personal level I am very concerned for Liu Xiaobo and his family and hope and pray for their health and well being and trust that the Chinese authorities will look after them well and that a constructive solution can be found.