Sunday Times 2
Human rights champs shed crocodile tears and offer fulsome praise of Liu Xiaobo
Global human rights flag-bearers shed crocodile tears and offered fulsome praise following the death of Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo on Thursday night in a hospital in China, where he had been treated for terminal liver cancer while being detained.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, who has been regularly denouncing Sri Lanka for alleged violations of human rights, maintained a stony silence from the time Liu’s worsening condition became known and even until Wednesday when he suffered respiratory failure. But after Liu died, Mr Zeid was liberal with fulsome praise, while adroitly avoiding stepping on the toes of China’s communist leadership.
Mr Zeid urged “the Chinese authorities to guarantee Liu Xia’s freedom of movement, and allow her to travel abroad should she wish so.”
In contrast, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, who said he “was dismayed to hear of the death”, noted that “Liu Xiaobo and his wife had most desperately wanted to come to Germany. I deeply regret that their wish was not granted.”
And Mr Gabriel declared: “I now consider China to be under a duty to investigate, swiftly, credibly and transparently, whether his cancer could and should have been discovered much earlier.”
Mr Zeid, in his statement, used cliches such as “iconic”, and recorded his “deep sorrow” and “heartfelt condolences”. He merely “hoped” that Liu’s wife Liu Xia, his family and friends, “will be able to grieve and honour him in accordance with their wishes”.
The grieving wife, Liu Xia, is under house arrest. China has not yet indicated that Liu Xiaobo will be allowed a burial, perhaps fearful that his final resting place could become a monument.
Mr Zeid’s UN human rights statement was sprinkled with a few verbal funeral bouquets – adjectives such as “principled”, “courageous”, and “devoted”.
His statement said: “The human rights movement in China and across the world has lost a principled champion who devoted his life to defending and promoting human rights, peacefully and consistently, and who was jailed for standing up for his beliefs.
“Liu Xiaobo and Liu Xia were a courageous couple and absolutely devoted to one another. I urge the Chinese authorities to guarantee Liu Xia’s freedom of movement, and allow her to travel abroad should she wish so.
“Liu Xiaobo was the true embodiment of the democratic, non-violent ideals he so ardently advocated. Despite the imprisonment and separation from the wife he adored that could have fuelled anger and bitterness, Liu Xiaobo declared that he had no hatred for those who pursued and prosecuted him.
“Liu Xiaobo was the definition of civic courage and human dignity – a poet and intellectual who wanted, and strove for, a better future for his country. A man who, despite all he suffered, continued to espouse the politics of peace. He was and will continue to be an inspiration and an example for all human rights defenders.”
On the other hand, German Foreign Minister Mr Gabriel demanded that Liu Xia “and her brother Liu Hui should be allowed to leave China immediately and travel to Germany or another country of their choice, if they so desire.”
Norway, where human rights are a cottage industry, and which liberally meddled for decades in Sri Lanka, offered 50 words, mainly a template of hackneyed phrases, from Prime Minister Erna Solberg: “It was with great sadness that I received the news of the death of Liu Xiaobo. For several decades, Liu Xiaobo was a prominent voice for human rights and the future development in China. My thoughts at this time go to his wife, Liu Xia, other family members and friends.”
Ms. Solberg visited China in April to mend diplomatic fences, which were damaged after the Nobel Committee honoured Liu Xiaobo in 2010. Relations were in deep freeze for six years. China said the Nobel had been given to a “criminal” and state media continued to call him a “criminal” even in death.
In Beijing, Ms. Solberg promised to respect China’s core interests and major concerns, and enhance political trust with China. She was rewarded with a deal to start talks on a free-trade pact.
In the December 2016 joint statement on normalising relations with China, the Norwegian Government completely ignored Liu Xiaobo, merely saying “due to the Nobel peace Prize award … China-Norway relations have deteriorated”.
Norway pledged that it will “not support actions that undermine”, “China’s core interests and major concerns”. Oslo also assured, “it fully respects China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
Ms. Solberg accompanied a plane load of 300 businesspeople – the biggest delegation yet – from 190 Norwegian companies to Beijing and was duly rewarded with 13 agreements. Norway cites its core values as freedom, human rights, democracy, gender equality, justice, and respect for the environment. Yet, for all its self-crafted halo as a human rights champion, Norway did not ask China to free Liu Xiaobo.