Pelosi to Attend Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony in Oslo, Norway

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Dec 09, 2010, 08:52 ET

WASHINGTON, Dec. 9, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Speaker Nancy Pelosi will attend the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo, Norway, as part of the official delegation on behalf of Liu Xiaobo and his wife Liu Xia. This year’s Nobel Peace Prize will be awarded to Chinese human rights activist Liu Xiaobo, who last year was sentenced to 11 years in prison for “inciting subversion of state power” after he authored Charter 08, an online petition by Chinese citizens calling on the Chinese government to improve its policies on democracy and human rights.

The ceremony will be held tomorrow, Friday, December 10 at 1 p.m. local time at Oslo City Hall.

On Wednesday, the House of Representatives passed a resolution to congratulate Liu Xiaobo on the award of the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize.

“I am pleased to join with the international community in congratulating Liu Xiaobo as the recipient of the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize,” Pelosi said. “In passing the House resolution yesterday, the American government sent a clear message of support for individuals who stand for non-violence, justice, democratic freedoms and the defense of fundamental human rights. As a courageous advocate of peaceful political change, Liu Xiaobo’s message of reform is an inspiration to the entire world. In the resolution passed this week, the House of Representatives called for his immediate and unconditional release from prison in China.”

Pelosi has been a longstanding advocate for human rights around the world and specifically in China and Tibet. Pelosi traveled to China in May 2009 and presented a letter asking for the release of Liu Xiaobo and others imprisoned in China.

Background:

December 7, 2010: Floor speech in support of a resolution congratulating Liu Xiaobo on the award of the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize.

October 8, 2010: Statement on the announcement of Liu Xiaobo as the winner of the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize.

December 25, 2009: Statement in response to the decision by Chinese authorities to sentence Liu Xiaobo to eleven years in prison.

October 1, 2009: Congress passed a resolution calling for China to release Liu Xiaobo from imprisonment.

June 24, 2009: Statement in response to the arrest of Liu Xiaobo on the criminal charge of “inciting subversion of state power.”

June 3, 2009: Floor speech in support of the Tiananmen Square resolution and a May 2009 letter to the Honorable Hu Jintao, President of the People’s Republic of China, on the release of certain individuals detained or imprisoned in China.

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SOURCE Office of the Speaker of the House