In China's upside-down world where black is white, the great honor of the Nobel Peace Prize being given to Liu Xiaobo, a writer, intellectual and human rights activist, has been denounced by the government as a "desecration" of the award because it was given to "a criminal who broke China's laws."
That is more a condemnation of Chinese laws than of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, which said in its announcement, "China is in breach of several international agreements to which it is a signatory, as well as of its own provisions concerning political rights."
The committee honored Liu for his "long and nonviolent struggle for fundamental human rights in China." But, assuming the mantle of defender of Alfred Nobel, creator of the prize, a Chinese government spokesman said the proper recipient should be someone who has worked for "fraternity between nations, the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses."