A video of Liu Xiaobo (劉曉波) being treated well in jail was released on YouTube late on Wednesday, in what a source close to the Chinese Nobel Peace Prize-winning activist said was a move by authorities to counter growing concerns over his care behind bars.
Liu, 61, was jailed in 2009 for 11 years for “inciting subversion of state power” after he helped write a petition known as Charter 08 calling for sweeping political reforms.
He is being treated in a hospital in the northern Chinese city of Shenyang for late-stage liver cancer after being granted medical parole, his lawyer said on Monday.
Liu is shown in the three-minute video playing badminton outside, being given a physical exam by prison guards and receiving treatment from doctors, as well as being visited by his wife, Liu Xia (劉霞).
In one clip, Liu Xiaobo speaks to Liu Xia by telephone as she sits behind glass in a visiting room.
“I had a physical exam, they took blood, did color Doppler imaging — it’s very good,” he says.
A doctor asks Liu Xiaobo in another clip when he first knew he had tested positive for hepatitis B surface antigens, a test used to show if a patient suffers from hepatitis B virus, and he replies: “Over 20 years ago.”
It was unclear when the scenes were filmed.
The Prison Management Bureau in Liaoning Province, where Liu Xiaobo was jailed, could not be reached after office hours on Wednesday.
The Shenyang legal bureau on Wednesday said in a statement on its Web site that signs Liu Xiaobo was unwell had been detected on May 31 and that he was immediately sent to the hospital where he was being treated by eight well-known domestic cancer experts, and that the cancer had spread to the rest of his body.
Several family members who are with Liu Xiaobo in Shenyang — including his wife — have “expressed satisfaction” with his treatment and have also asked he be treated with traditional Chinese medicine, which is now happening, the statement said.
Liu Xiaobo had a history of hepatitis B before entering jail, it said, citing prison records, adding that he had received regular medical checks while in prison that had not previously found signs of hepatitis or tumors.
The video was posted on YouTube by a user who had previously posted clips denouncing Guo Wengui (郭文貴), a controversial property tycoon who has made claims of high-level corruption within the Chinese Communist Party.
When asked about the video, a source close to Liu Xiaobo and his wife said that his statements in the film are “quotes without context,” and added that all the shots appeared to be taken with hidden cameras.
“They filmed this so they could create a propaganda clip,” the source said. “Maybe it was originally filmed to show their bosses; now it is being used to reply to critics of the Chinese government who say they did not do enough to stop Liu Xiaobo contracting advanced liver cancer.”
Western politicians and rights campaigners have voiced concern about the quality of his treatment.
The state-run Global Times yesterday said in an editorial that it was ridiculous to suggest that China wanted to “murder” Liu Xiaobo.
“Liu [Xiaobo] is an ordinary prisoner. He ought to be grateful for extra help from the prison authorities, but he and his supporters have no right to demand preferential treatment,” it said.
US Ambassador to China Terry Branstad on Wednesday said the US would like to see Liu Xiaobo treated elsewhere.
Amnesty International on Tuesday said that Liu Xia had told Chinese authorities she wanted her husband to receive medical treatment abroad.
A Hong Kong reporter yesterday shouted a question at Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) after he gave a short speech upon arrival at Hong Kong airport, asking if Liu Xiaobo would be released or receive treatment abroad. Xi did not answer.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was