In 2010, Liu became the first Chinese citizen to win a Nobel Prize. Neither Liu, nor any of his family, were allowed to travel to Norway to accept the prize. Liu is still in prison today, and the question of his long-term impact is open. Did China’s democracy movement fail in 1989, or will we… Read more »
In response to what he saw at the Olympic Games, Liu put the organizing powers of the internet to use with serious repercussions. In late 2008, Liu and a handful of colleagues released a public letter criticizing the Chinese government. Modeled on Czechoslovakia’s Charter 77, they called their letter Charter 08 and it gathered more than… Read more »
While the growth of the internet in China did not bring with it sweeping political reforms as some in the West might have hoped, for Liu it was transformative. Given a window to reach 500 million readers, Liu could live off his writing for the first time, and Liu found the internet offered a powerful… Read more »