Oslo/Beijing, October 8
China reacted with anger to news of Friday’s award of the Nobel Peace Prize to dissident writer Liu Xiaobo, who is serving an 11-year prison sentence for subversion.

“Liu Xiaobo is a criminal sentenced by Chinese judicial organs due to his violation of Chinese law,” the foreign ministry said in a statement. “His actions are against the purpose of the Nobel Peace Prize,” the statement said.

“The Nobel Committee’s award of the Peace Prize to such a person is totally contrary to the aim of this prize and also seriously disrespects the peace prize,” it said.

Liu was arrested in December 2008, two days before he and 300 other dissidents released the Charter ‘08 for democratic reform.

The prize shines a spotlight on human rights in China at a time when it is starting to play a leading role on the global stage as a result of its growing economic might, and drew muted reactions from the European Union, France and Germany.

Liu rose to prominence as a strike leader during the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests in 1989. He was sentenced to 11 years’ jail last December for writing a manifesto calling for free speech and multi-party elections.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee praised Liu for his “long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights” and reiterated its belief in a “close connection between human rights and peace”.

China, which had warned against giving the prize to Liu, said the award would hurt ties with Norway, with which it is currently negotiating a bilateral trade agreement. “This is an obscenity against the peace prize,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said in a statement.

“(Liu’s) actions are diametrically opposed to the aims of the Nobel prize. Nobel’s behest was that the Nobel Peace Prize be awarded to somebody who promoted peace between peoples, promoted international friendship and disarmament.”

Beijing residents reported that CNN and BBC broadcasts were cut when the prize was mentioned.

Activists say human rights have dropped down the agenda of Western governments wary of upsetting China, now the world’s second largest economy. France, Germany and the European Union all congratulated Liu, saying they had lobbied for his release from prison, but avoided direct criticism of China.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said the values promoted by Liu were “at the core of the European Union”.

The Dalai Lama, whose receipt of the Peace Prize in 1989 similarly angered China, said the prize highlighted “the international community’s recognition of the increasing voices among the Chinese people in pushing China towards political, legal and constitutional reforms”. — Agencies

Melbourne, October 8
New Zealand today termed as “insulting” a television host’s racist remarks against Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit made on state-run TV that led to a furious official protest from India, even as its foreign minister said the government is powerless to take any action. TVNZ presenter Paul Henry had mocked the name of Dikshit during a breakfast show.

“It’s so appropriate because she’s Indian”, he had said, prompting India to summon New Zealand’s High Commissioner Rupert Holborow at the foreign ministry to lodge a protest.

Responding to New Delhi’s official protest on the issue New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully said, “Any action against Henry is entirely a matter for the company, or for the Broadcasting Standards Authority.” “The actions of Henry in this case can only be described as gratuitous and insulting,” McCully said as he backed an apology of High Commissioner Holborow.

McCully said Henry’s remarks were a regrettable abuse of freedom of speech as he responded to a formal complaint lodged with Wellington’s envoy in New Delhi.

The foreign minister said he would contact the Indian government to assure it “the comments were the actions of one person, made in a country in which freedom of speech is an important foundation principle”.

While the presenter made the remarks on state-owned television station TVNZ, McCully said he wanted to make it clear to India that under New Zealand law the broadcaster operated independently of government.

“However it is always regrettable when a prominent individual abuses the freedom of expression, which is one of our basic rights, to cause offence to others. That is especially the case when the person offended against is a prominent public figure in another country,” McCully said.

In his apology, Holborow said Henry’s comments were “culturally insensitive, inappropriate and vulgar” and did not represent the view of the New Zealand people. — PTI 

BRIEFLY

Rocket with US-Russian crew blasts off
Baikonur (Kazakhstan): A Russian rocket with a US astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts onboard blasted off successfully on Friday for the International Space Station, with flame-haired Russian spy Anna Chapman making an unexpected appearance at the cosmodrome to wave them goodbye. The Soyuz TMA-01M was launched at the scheduled time from the Baikonur cosmodrome in the vast steppe of southern Kazakhstan. — AP

Myanmar court to hear Suu Kyi appeal
Yangon: With just weeks to go before Myanmar democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's scheduled release, the High Court has agreed to hear arguments from her lawyers on whether to hear their appeal against her latest stint of house arrest, her lawyer said on Friday. The court's response comes five months after lawyers for Suu Kyi filed a request to appeal her case with the Special Appellate Bench, a multi-judge panel in the remote administrative capital of Naypyitaw. — PTI

Flower has world’s longest genome
London: Researchers at London's Kew Gardens say they've discovered the longest genome in the world and that it belongs to a rather ordinary-looking white flower. The scientists say the Paris japonica has a genetic code 50 times longer than that of a human being and edges out its nearest competitor, the marbled lungfish. A genome is the full complement of an organism's DNA, complex molecules that direct the formation and function of all living organisms. — AP