A Tribute to Liu Xiaobo, 1955–2017
Liu Xiaobo (1955-2017) was a brilliant writer and committed activist. As President of the Independent Chinese PEN Center, he was a friend and compatriot for writers all over the world who struggle against tyranny using words as their sole weapon.
Liu Xiaobo, New York, 1989. Images courtesy of Bei Ling. Click to enlarge.
For the act of penning seven sentences, China punished Liu Xiaobo with 11 years in prison. After his arrest in December 2008, PEN America honored Liu with the 2009 PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award, kicking off an international campaign for his freedom that culminated in his receipt—in absentia—of the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize.
China’s refusal to honor Liu Xiaobo’s last wish to travel overseas for treatment and its decision to hold him incommunicado during his dying days are a cruel epitaph in the tale of a powerful regime’s determination to crush a brave man who dared challenge a government that sustains its rule through suppression and fear. Liu Xiaobo was not afraid. His courage in life and in death is an inspiration to those who stand for freedom in China and everywhere.
Liu Xiaobo | China
Liu Xiaobo, a renowned literary critic, writer, political activist, and 2010 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, was charged with "inciting subversion of state power," and sentenced to 11-years in prison… More
Writers Worldwide Mourn Death of Writer-Activist Liu Xiaobo, a Permanent Mark on China’s Human Rights Record
The death of Liu Xiaobo will forever mar China’s reputation under international law and global human rights standards, PEN America said in a statement today. More
A Freedom to Write Retrospective: Liu Xiaobo
Liu Xiaobo is one of us. He may not be free yet, but we have thousands of Members willing to stand in the snow for him… More
Greed’s Prisoner
even the ashes don’t belong to you, his body / in the prison of the Communist Party / so that the spirit-cell you built / without a door without… More
Reading Liu Xiaobo’s Greed’s Prisoner
Liu Xiaobo's wife, Liu Xia, and Victoria Redel read Greed's Prisoner (for the dispossessed wife), a poem written by Liu Xiaobo, recipient of the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize. More
Words a Cell Can’t Hold
I had imagined being there beneath sunlight / with the procession of martyrs / using just the one thin bone / to uphold a true conviction More
Authoritarianism in the Light of the Olympic Flame
In April 2007, Beijing announced its grand plan for the Olympic Torch Relay. The official theme, "harmonious journey," was clearly meant as an indirect reference to the "harmonious society"… More
One Letter is Enough, Longing to Escape, A Small Rat in Prison, and Daybreak
one letter is enough / for me to transcend and face / you to speak / as the wind blows past / the night / uses its own blood… More
The Internet is God’s Present to China
The ease, openness, and freedom of the internet has caused public opinion to become very lively in recent years. The government…cannot control the internet. More
The Seven Sentences of Liu Xiaobo
E.L. Doctorow, Don DeLillo, Kwame Anthony Appiah, Edward Albee, A.M. Homes, Honor Moore, Victoria Redel, and other PEN Members gathered on the steps of the New York Public Library… More
Liu Xiaobo Discusses Freedom of Expression in China
Imprisoned Chinese writer Liu Xiaobo talks about freedom of expression in China. More
PEN Podcast: Kwame Antony Appiah Introduces Writers Rally for Release of Liu Xiaobo
Kwame Anthony Appiah on Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo, who was sentenced to 11 years in prison on Christmas Day, 2009. More
Don DeLillo Reads from an Article and a Poem by Liu Xiaobo
Don DeLillo reads from the 2006 article "Can it be that the Chinese People Deserve Only 'Party-Led Democracy'" and a poem by Liu Xiaobo, as part of the 2009… More
Paul Auster Reads Liu Xiaobo
"One Letter is Enough," "Longing to Escape," "A Small Rat in Prison," and "Daybreak" are new poems from Liu Xiaobo, who received the 2009 PEN/ Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to… More
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Kwame Anthony Appiah and Peter Godwin Read Poetry by Liu Xiaobo
On March 20, 2012, over 100 individuals, organizations, bookstores, and PEN centers are participating in a worldwide reading organized by the International Literature Festival Berlin (ilb) to honor our… More
A.M. Homes Reads from “The Many Aspects of CPC Dictatorship” and from the Verdict against Liu Xiaobo
A.M. Homes reads from "The Many Aspects of CPC Dictatorship" and from the Beijing Municipality First Intermediate Peoples Court verdict against Liu Xiaobo, as part of the 2009 event… More
Honor Moore Reads from Charter 08 and from the Verdict against Liu Xiaobo
Honor Moore reads from Charter 08, the December 10, 2008 declaration calling for political reforms, greater human rights, and an end to one-party rule in China, and from the… More
E.L. Doctorow Reads from Charter 08 and a Poem by Liu Xiaobo
Doctorow reads from Charter 08, the December 2008 declaration calling for political reforms, greater human rights, and an end to one-party rule in China, and a Liu Xiaobo poem. More
Liu Xia on Having Liu Xiaobo’s Papers Confiscated by Chinese Authorities
Liu Xia on having papers belonging to her husband, 2010 Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo, confiscated by the police in 2004. More
Larry Siems Discusses Imprisoned Activist Liu Xiaobo
June 5, 1989: An unidentified man faces down a column of tanks a day after hundreds are massacred in Tiananmen Square. It is one of the most enduring images… More
Anthony Appiah’s Support for Liu Xiaobo’s Nobel Peace Prize Nomination
On September 29, 2010, at the 76th International PEN Congress in Tokyo, Japan, PEN American Center President Kwame Anthony Appiah spoke about his nomination of Liu Xiaobo for the… More
We Remember You, Liu Xiaobo
PEN American President Kwame Anthony Appiah sends a message to Liu Xiaobo one year after he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. PEN and all of Liu Xiaobo's supporters… More
Writers Rally for Liu Xiaobo
E.L. Doctorow, Don DeLillo, Kwame Anthony Appiah, Edward Albee, A.M. Homes, Honor Moore, Victoria Redel, and other PEN Members gathered on the steps of the New York Public Library… More
Liu Xiaobo in Hong Kong
Liu Xiaobo was in Hong Kong on Saturday. He sat silent in a frame, on an empty chair, as hundreds of people bent down to him, a sign of… More
Prominent Writer Liu Xiaobo Honored in New York
PEN America honored Liu Xiaobo, one of China’s preeminent dissident writers and activists and a leading figure in the PEN movement internationally, with PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award. More
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