In the first whisper of a comment since he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 48 hours earlier, imprisoned Chinese writer Liu Xiaobo sent word through his wife Sunday that he would dedicate the award to activists killed during 1989 pro-democracy demonstrations at Tiananmen Square, according to a human rights organization.
The writer’s wife, who has been held under house arrest, was escorted by police to Jinzhou Prison in northern China’s Liaoning province where she was able to speak with her husband.“We saw each other for one hour,” she told supporters via a Twitter post Monday morning. She said her husband wept when he talked of those killed at Tiananmen Square. “He told me that the award is for all of the dead. They spent their lives practicing democracy, freedom and peace, and the spirit of nonviolence.”
“They were able to meet,” confirmed U.S. activist Beth Schwanke of Freedom Now, a Washington-based organization that says it is providing legal representation to the couple. “He began crying as soon as he heard. He said he wanted to dedicate the prize to the martyrs of Tiananmen Square – Chicagotribune
