Liu Xiaobo, the winner of the 2010 Nobel peace prize, is China’s most high profile dissident. He is best-known for his participation in the Tiananmen Square protests and for penning Charter 08, a document released in December 2008 calling for political change in China. The document demanded an end to one-party authoritarian rule and a variety of civil and human rights and was signed by thousands of Chinese citizens.
Mr. Liu was detained a number of times over the years, most recently in December 2008 in connection with Charter 08. He was convicted in December 2009 and sentenced to 11 years in prison. He remains there today and was barred from attending the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo.
