Two foreign specialists who visited Liu Xiaobo (劉曉波) yesterday said that the cancer-stricken Nobel Peace Prize laureate can safely travel abroad for treatment, apparently contradicting statements by Chinese experts who say a medical evacuation would be unsafe for China’s best-known political prisoner.
The US and German doctors, who saw Liu on Saturday, issued a joint statement saying that their home institutions — the University of Heidelberg and the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Texas — have agreed to accept Liu, but that any evacuation would have to take place “as quickly as possible.”
Liu was diagnosed in May with late-stage liver cancer while serving an 11-year sentence for inciting subversion by advocating sweeping political reforms that would end China’s one-party rule. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010, the year after he was convicted and jailed by a Chinese court.
Photo: AP
The differing opinions about the feasibility of Liu traveling could further complicate the tug-of-war over the 61-year-old activist.
For weeks, family and supporters have asked for Liu to be fully released and allowed to receive treatment abroad, arguing that authorities are keeping him in China only out of political considerations.
The Chinese government has maintained that Liu is receiving the best treatment possible at the First Hospital of China Medical University in Shenyang.
Following international criticism, China allowed the two foreign experts, Markus Buchler of Heidelberg University and Joseph Herman of the MD Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas, to visit Liu.
Buchler and Herman said in their statement that they “acknowledged” the quality of care Liu has received in Shenyang.
However, they said that Liu expressed a desire to leave China, and that they judged that he “can be safely transported with appropriate medical evacuation care and support.”
Hours after the foreign doctors announced their opinion, Jared Genser, a Washington-based lawyer who represents Liu internationally, said that any decision by Chinese authorities to still keep Liu would amount to “intentionally hastening his death” and “refusing to honor the wishes of a dying man to receive the treatment he desires.”
Already criticized for letting an imprisoned Nobel laureate fall terminally ill on its watch, the Chinese government faces a public relations disaster whether Liu stays in the country or goes abroad.
Hu Jia (胡佳), a dissident and Liu family friend, said that Beijing is afraid of letting its most potent opposition symbol go abroad as long as he is able to speak to the media.
“As long as he can still talk, the global media will report and transmit his message to the world,” Hu said. “Every sound he utters will be recorded as a force for changing China.”
Shang Baojun (尚寶軍), a former lawyer for Liu who remains close to the family, said on Saturday that Liu was coherent enough during the visit with the foreign doctors to say that he wanted to go abroad for treatment, preferably to Germany, although the US would also be fine.
At times, Liu was lucid enough to communicate in English, Shang said.
The hospital itself released a brief online statement lateon Saturday that quoted an unnamed Chinese expert as saying it would be unsafe for Liu to travel abroad. The hospital has previously said that Liu’s liver function is deteriorating, and that blood clots are forming in his left leg and could potentially travel to the brain or the lungs, leading to death.
INVESTIGATION: The case is the latest instance of a DPP figure being implicated in an espionage network accused of allegedly leaking information to Chinese intelligence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) member Ho Jen-chieh (何仁傑) was detained and held incommunicado yesterday on suspicion of spying for China during his tenure as assistant to then-minister of foreign affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮). The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said Ho was implicated during its investigation into alleged spying activities by former Presidential Office consultant Wu Shang-yu (吳尚雨). Prosecutors said there is reason to believe Ho breached the National Security Act (國家安全法) by leaking classified Ministry of Foreign Affairs information to Chinese intelligence. Following interrogation, prosecutors petitioned the Taipei District Court to detain Ho, citing concerns over potential collusion or tampering of evidence. The
Seventy percent of middle and elementary schools now conduct English classes entirely in English, the Ministry of Education said, as it encourages schools nationwide to adopt this practice Minister of Education (MOE) Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) is scheduled to present a report on the government’s bilingual education policy to the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee today. The report would outline strategies aimed at expanding access to education, reducing regional disparities and improving talent cultivation. Implementation of bilingual education policies has varied across local governments, occasionally drawing public criticism. For example, some schools have required teachers of non-English subjects to pass English proficiency
‘FORM OF PROTEST’: The German Institute Taipei said it was ‘shocked’ to see Nazi symbolism used in connection with political aims as it condemned the incident Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 yesterday amid an outcry over a Nazi armband he wore to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case on Tuesday night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and apparently covering the book with a coat. This is a serious international scandal and Chinese
TRADE: The premier pledged safeguards on ‘Made in Taiwan’ labeling, anti-dumping measures and stricter export controls to strengthen its position in trade talks Products labeled “made in Taiwan” must be genuinely made in Taiwan, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday, vowing to enforce strict safeguards against “origin laundering” and initiate anti-dumping investigations to prevent China dumping its products in Taiwan. Cho made the remarks in a discussion session with representatives from industries in Kaohsiung. In response to the US government’s recent announcement of “reciprocal” tariffs on its trading partners, President William Lai (賴清德) and Cho last week began a series of consultations with industry leaders nationwide to gather feedback and address concerns. Taiwanese and US officials held a videoconference on Friday evening to discuss the
RSS