Obama Calls on China to Free Nobel Winner

President Obama called on China to release Liu Xiaobo today, after the jailed dissident became the latest Nobel Peace Prize winner. “China has made dramatic progress in economic reform and improving the lives of its people,” Obama said, “but this award reminds us that political reform has not kept pace. … We call on the Chinese government to release Mr. Liu as soon as possible.”

Nor is Obama alone; France too called for the Liu’s release, and many others—including top representatives from the UN and EU—joined the chorus praising the newly minted laureate, according to the AFP. Even Taiwan’s Beijing-friendly president hailed it as a “historic” moment for Chinese human rights. China, for its part, angrily declared that the Nobel committee had “violated” the integrity of the award, and did its best to censor news of it. (More Barack Obama stories.)