EU Honors Chinese Dissident, Enraging Beijing

Hu Jia is serving a prison sentence for 'subversion'

By Nick McMaster, Newser Staff

Posted Oct 23, 2008 3:26 PM CDT

(Newser) – A move by the European Parliament to award a major human-rights prize to a Chinese dissident has Beijing outraged on the eve of a summit on the economic crisis, the Telegraph reports. The government denounced as “gross interference in China's domestic affairs” news that the jailed Hu Jia had won prestigious Sakharov Prize; a delegation including French president Nicolas Sarkozy arrives in Beijing tomorrow.

Hu, after working and blogging on behalf of Chinese AIDS sufferers and other causes, is currently serving a 3½-year prison sentence for “subversion.” European Commission head José Manuel Barroso, also attending the summit of EU members and 16 Asian nations, says he plans to bring up human-rights issues during talks.

[Images (2)]

[Quotes (1)]

In this 2006 file photo, Chinese AIDS activist Hu Jia speaks during an interview in Beijing. (AP Photo)

News of the human-rights prize comes as French president Nicolas Sarkozy prepares for a Europe-China summit on the economic crisis. (AP Photo)

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The people of China, who yearn for the same freedoms that are sacrosanct to us in the West, should know that the European Parliament will highlight the authoritarian and repressive nature of the communist government.
- Charles Tannock, Euro MP

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EU Honors Chinese Dissident, Enraging Beijing