EU lawmakers urge China to let Nobel dissident seek medical help

STRASBOURG, France – The European Parliament on Thursday called on China to allow terminally ill Nobel peace laureate Liu Xiaobo to seek medical help of his own choosing.

China should “immediately release the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo and his wife Liu Xia from house arrest and allow him to seek medical treatment wherever he wishes,” a statement said.

Liu was recently released from prison on medical parole and on Wednesday, the hospital caring for him invited US, German and other foreign experts to come and help treat him.

The invitation was made “at the request” of Liu’s family, according to the legal bureau in Shenyang, the northeastern city where he has been treated since leaving prison more than a month ago.

China has faced international calls to give Liu the option to get treatment abroad after he was diagnosed with terminal liver cancer.

Liu, 61, was sentenced to 11 years in jail in 2009 for “subversion” after calling for democratic reform in China.

In their resolution, MEPs sitting in the eastern French city of Strasbourg also urged Beijing to release Lee Ming-che, a Taiwanese pro-democracy social media activist.

Lee, 42, was detained in March for “engaging in activities that endanger national security” and has not been heard of since.

Lawmakers were concerned by China’s “continued efforts to silence civil society actors” via new laws on state security, counterterrorism, cybersecurity and foreign NGOs, the parliamentary statement said. 

They also urged the European Union to continue to press the issue of human rights with China. – Rappler.com