The cliches of Nobel Committee chairman
Nobel Committee Chairman Thorbjoern Jagland has tabled again his explanation on his committee's decision to confer this year's Nobel Peace Prize to Liu Xiaobo, a convicted Chinese criminal.
Despite eloquence and arrogance, Jagland offered only some cliche remarks at a high-profile press conference held Thursday in Oslo, the Norwegian capital.
At the press conference, Jagland preached again "universal rights" and universal values to defend his committee's decision, saying they "are not Western standards."
In essence, he was once again trumpeting the notion of "human rights above sovereignty" after his signed article "Why We Gave Liu Xiaobo a Nobel" in The New York Times in October this year. However, the fallacious notion has been opposed by a majority of countries in the international community.
In a nutshell, the notion does not recognize the fact that a nation-state provides a basic and substantial protection for the human rights of its citizens.
According to Article 29 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted and proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948, "in the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law..."
In other words, the declaration puts law ahead of the exercise of a person's rights and freedom. Then, why should Liu, in Jagland's understanding, be an exception to go beyond the legal limits in pursuing his rights and freedom?
It is known to all that Liu was convicted of violating Chinese law and engaging in activities aimed at overthrowing the government.
Generally, the Nobel prize-conferring ceremony is a popular occasion which usually draws massive attendance. But at this year's event on Friday, due to the committee's widely-disputed decision, Jagland saw a disappointing number of guests.
Jagland said Thursday that two thirds of embassies and consulates in Oslo were expected to send representatives to the ceremony, but he might have forgotten that only about 65 out of some 200 countries have embassies in Oslo.
While in comparison, more than 100 countries and international organizations have expressed support for China's stance on this year's Nobel Peace Prize.
