China says Nobel Peace Prize is "political tool of the West"

On Friday, China denounced the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Liu Xiaobo as a "political tool of the west," and saying that it was a plot by the United States and the Western democracies that "fear the rise of China" and want to undermine it's political system, as reported in a commentary in the principle party newspaper. The author of the commentary (which is signed by Guo Shu, but it isn't clear if this is the actual author or a pseudonym for a party committee) claims that giving the prize to Liu has nothing to do with peace, and is doing the opposite, and that it is one of many actions taken by the United States to undermine China. Also, on Friday, the vice foreign minister said that countries have a choice of challenging the judicial system in China, or having friendly relations with them. He said that anyone who chooses to recognize the prize (and chose to not have friendly relations with China) will have to "bear the consequences," although he didn't discuss what the consequences would be. Liu is an author who called for democratic reforms in China in 2008, and has now been issued an 11 year prison sentence for trying to subvert Communist rule.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/06/world/asia/06nobel.html?ref=world

By: Kathleen Tite