The dying Liu Xiaobo understands that words live. “I hope to be the last victim of China’s endless literary inquisition, and that after this no one else will ever be jailed for their speech,” he wrote in the 2009 statement that was read in Norway before the empty chair. “Freedom of expression is the basis of human rights, the source of humanity and the mother of truth. To block freedom of speech is to trample on human rights, to strangle humanity and to suppress the truth.”
So, instead of looking at pictures of Liu Xiaobo in hospital, read him. Read “June Fourth Elegies,” a book of poetry, and Charter '08, the political manifesto that got him thrown in jail. Read what was read in Oslo the night he won the Nobel Peace Prize and what he wrote his wife.
