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The surprising escape of a blind legal activist from house arrest is buoying China's embattled dissident community, even as the government cracks down on those who helped him.
Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo smiles in this undated photo released by his family on October 3, 2010. (Courtesy of Reuters/File)
3. Liu Xiaobo
Liu Xiaobo, the winner of the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize, is one of China’s most high-profile dissidents. He is best known for his participation in the Tiananmen Square protests and for penning Charter 08, a document released in December 2008 calling for political change in China. The document demanded a variety of civil and human rights and an end to one-party authoritarian rule, and was signed by thousands of Chinese citizens.
Mr. Liu was detained a number of times over the years, most recently in December 2008 in connection with Charter 08. He was convicted in December 2009 and sentenced to 11 years in prison. He remains there today and was barred from attending the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo.
Little has been seen or heard from him or his wife, who remains under house arrest, in the past two years.
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