Why Are They So Afraid?

The next Nobel Peace Prize winner may be in prison when the award is announced. His name is Liu Xiaobo, and he's been in a Chinese prison since December 2008 on charges of subversion. He's the primary author of Charter 08, the Chinese democracy movement's call for peaceful transition to a democratic form of government. When you read about what he's been through, and his courage in standing up against the full authority of the Chinese government, you'll think to yourself, this is the one deserving of the Peace Prize.

The Chinese are so fearful of the embarrassment Liu's winning would cause them that they've warned the Nobel institute not to award Liu the Nobel. Now, that's not embarrassing, is it fellas?

[We're about to get borderline sanctimonious here, but stay with us anyway.]

The Chinese government must come to understand that intimidation doesn't work, whether at home or abroad. We fear it will be a long time before it learns that lesson in terms of its own people, but at least the world at large now has an opportunity to stand for the principles the Nobel Peace Prize embodies. Give Liu the Nobel.