LIU XIAOBO (28 December 1955–13 July 2017), Chinese intellectual, dissident, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, known for his passionate advocacy for democxracy in China—particularly in regards to the rights of citizens to enjoy Article 35 of the Chinese Constitution, which promises “freedom of speech, of the press, of assembly, association, of procession, and of demonstration.” Born in Changchun city, China, he studied philosophy and literature at Beijing Normal University. Even in these early years of his career, he was known as a “dissident among dissidents,” and seen as particularly radical among his intellectual peers. After receiving his PhD in 1988, he became a guest lecturer at many prominent Western universities. Liu famously returned to Beijing from a stint at Columbia University in 1989 in order to take part in the student protests of Tiananmen Square. He held a hunger strike to show solidarity, encouraging the students to leave before martial intervention claimed their lives; without Liu’s involvement, the death toll among protestors would certainly have been significantly higher, as Liu and his colleagues directly negotiated with the Chinese government to allow a safe passage. He stood on the line between action and pacifism, stating to the protestors, “I understand what you’re feeling, but haven’t you considered how as soon as the first shot rings out, Tiananmen Square will become a river of blood?” Following the massacre, Liu was sentenced to three years in a labor camp and was stripped of his academic position, being deemed a “black hand” and a “disturbance” against the Communist Party. In 1999 he was released and famously reunited with his wife, the artist Liu Xia, whom he had married while in prison.
From 1999 to 2008, Liu published several literary works, including poetry books, in countries outside of China, including: Selected Poems of Liu Xiaobo and Liu Xia (2000), A Nation That Lies to Conscience (2002), The Dawn of a Free China Lies in Civil Awakening (2005), and Single-Blade Poison Sword: A Critique of Contemporary Chinese Nationalism (2006). In 2008, Liu joined the cause in formulating and gathering support for “Charter 08,” a democratic manifesto, managing to recruit several hundred prominent writers, lawyers, and former politicians. By the end of the year, he was forcibly charged with “agitating to subvert state power” and sentenced to eleven years in prison. During his imprisonment, he received several global awards in absentia, including the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010 for his “long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China.” An iconic photograph of his empty chair at the award ceremony in Oslo is immortalized across social media.
In 2017, during the seventh year of his sentence, Liu was transferred to a hospital with a diagnosis of stage 4 liver cancer. He died in state custody shortly thereafter and his ashes were scattered across the sea. The circumstances of his death raised much scrutiny and outrage, including several accusations that the state had purposefully restricted medical treatment. Countless political figures globally mourned his passing and condemned the state’s authoritarian measures.
Noted contemporary Chinese artist Ai Weiwei pays tribute to Liu Xiaobo in Trace, his 2017 portrait series built from Lego pieces. Liu’s legacy is further cemented in contemporary culture via his marriage to Liu Xia, an important poet, artist, and activist in her own right. Having withstood the labor camp and his final years in prison, their relationship is seen as “boundless” and galvanizing to younger generations. Even as Liu Xia worried about Liu Xiaobo’s well-being, he sent letters thanking her for her “selfless love,” writing, “even if I am crushed into powder, I will embrace you with ashes . . . with your love, I will calmly face the impending trial, with no regrets for my choices, and will look forward with hope to tomorrow.”
Despite its inhumanity toward him, Liu remained devoted to China—or to what China could be. In his last year, he stated that he had “no enemies,” even going so far as to thank certain officers for their kindnesses. Liu believed relentlessly in China’s future and its capacity to become a free nation, “where human rights reign supreme.”