Nobel Peace Prize Winner Liu Xiaobo
The Dissident's Wife and His Legacy
Liu Xia has seen her husband less than a handful of times since his December 2008 detention, including briefly on the day of his sentencing. "The verdict was completely outrageous," she told TIME after it came through. "I have nothing to say to this unreasonable government." But Charter 08 is having a fascinating life behind the scenes in China's shadowy halls of power. Its key concept is that the Chinese people legitimately desire "freedom, equality and human rights [which] are universal values of humankind." The words "universal value" in Chinese (pushi jiazhi) have been attacked by conservatives as stealth Westernization and that China and the Chinese need not subscribe to them. But there have been well-placed policymakers who believe in pushi jiazhi — among them, reportedly, China's Premier Wen Jiabao.