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Yahoo! My Yahoo! Mail More Yahoo! Services Account Options New User? Sign Up Sign In Help Yahoo! Search web search Home Singapore Asia Pacific World Business Entertainment Sports Technology Weekend Edition Australia China India Indonesia Japan Malaysia Philippines Thailand Vietnam China pressures European governments over Nobel By BJOERN H. AMLAND and TINI TRAN,Associated Press - Friday, November 5 Send IM Story Print OSLO, Norway – China is pressuring European governments to avoid the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony for imprisoned democracy activist Liu Xiaobo and not make any statements in support of him, several diplomats said Thursday. The Chinese Embassy in Oslo has sent official letters to a number of European embassies in the Norwegian capital asking them not to attend the Dec. 10 ceremony, two Western diplomats said. According to one of the diplomats in Beijing who said he has seen the letter, China cited its repeated position that Liu is a criminal for his advocacy of widespread political reforms and called the prize an interference in China's internal affairs. The letter also urged embassies not to issue any public statements in support of Liu on the day of the ceremony, he said. Finland and Iceland confirmed their embassies in Oslo had received a letter in which China expressed its views on Liu receiving the prize, and Sweden said it had received a letter from China but declined to disclose its contents. The ambassadors of Denmark and the Netherlands didn't comment on the letter, but said they would attend the ceremony. Germany said it had received verbal information about the issue at its embassy in Oslo, but said its representative would nonetheless attend. Liu, a writer and outspoken government critic, is serving an 11-year prison term for inciting subversion with Charter 08, a bold call for sweeping political reforms that he co-authored. His wife has been under house arrest since the award was announced in October. Numerous world leaders, including President Barack Obama, as well as international rights groups have called for Liu's release. That has enraged China, which has been waging a campaign through state media to criticize both Liu and the prize. In Beijing in the past couple of weeks, diplomats from several countries have been called into meetings with Chinese officials, who made similar requests to the letters issued to the embassies in Oslo, said the first Western diplomat. "They have been quietly getting in touch, inviting people to small meetings and passing the message that way," the diplomat said. A second Western diplomat confirmed the letter. Another diplomat from a European country said his country had not been asked to avoid the event, but he was aware of several other nations that had been approached. All three diplomats spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject. A fourth diplomat in Oslo said the letter received by his embassy didn't specifically mention the Nobel ceremony, but urged diplomats to "refrain from attending any activity directed against China." The diplomat, who requested anonymity because he wasn't authorized to discuss the matter publicly, said the phrasing may have been different in letters sent to other embassies. Finnish Ambassador to Norway, Maimo Henriksson, said the Chinese letter didn't mention the award ceremony and "was much more general in nature." She conceded, though, that the letter had expressed displeasure that the prize was awarded to Liu Xiaobo. Henriksson said he would represent Finland at the ceremony. A spokeswoman for Germany's Foreign Ministry said the charge d'affaires in Oslo traditionally attends the awards ceremony and saw "no reason to depart from this longtime policy." A British Foreign Office spokesperson said in a statement that "the Chinese have raised the issue with us." The statement said the British ambassador to Norway normally attends the ceremony and intends to this year. Geir Lundestad, the secretary of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, declined to comment on the Chinese letter, but said it's up to the ambassadors to decide whether to attend the ceremony at Oslo's City Hall. He said more than 1,000 invitations had been sent out, including to all ambassadors to Norway. Even the Chinese ambassador received an invitation, but returned it without answering, Lundestad said. "All mail we have sent to the Chinese Embassy in Oslo has been returned unopened," he said. It's unclear who will accept the prize on Liu's behalf, but "people close to the laureate" have conveyed his wish that a children's choir perform at the ceremony, Lundestad said. Arrangements were being made for that, he added. On Thursday, China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei refused to confirm or deny that China had sent the letters. "Our opposition to the awarding of the peace prize to Liu Xiaobo is clear. We oppose anyone making an issue out of this," Hong told a regularly scheduled news conference. The campaign against Liu is typical of the more aggressive, hardball diplomacy that China has used recently with European nations over visits by the Dalai Lama and other human rights issues. The request comes at a sensitive time for several European countries in their dealings with China, which is using its economic clout more. President Hu Jintao is in France this week, where reports say a deal on the sale of Airbus jets could be signed, while next week British Prime Minister David Cameron visits Beijing hoping to strengthen business ties after his government last month outlined the sharpest cuts to public spending since World War II. In addition to foreign diplomats, Norway's royal family and representatives of the Norwegian government and Parliament typically attend the annual ceremony, which is held on the anniversary of prize founder Alfred Nobel's death in 1896. "From the Norwegian side, there are no scheduled changes from the normal procedures for participation at the ceremony," said Norwegian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bjoern Svenungsen. The increased pressure on Western governments comes amid a clampdown on Chinese activists, lawyers and NGO groups who have supported Liu. Many have reported frequent police harassment and increased surveillance since the Nobel announcement. Dozens of Chinese activists and luminaries had been invited by Liu's wife to attend the Nobel award ceremony on her behalf because she believed mainland authorities were unlikely to allow her to pick up the prize. Earlier this week, a Chinese engineer in southern China who handed out fliers in the streets and public parks publicizing Liu's award was detained on suspicion of subversion, according to rights groups. _____ Tran reported from Beijing. Associated Press writer Matti Huuhtanen in Helsinki contributed to this report. 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