Liu Xiaobo
Liu Xiaobo has never been shy about his distaste for China's policies, and until this year the democracy activist had few positives to show for his admirable candor. Imprisoned on several occasions, most recently since June 2009, for calling for the end of one-party rule, the 54-year-old professor and literary critic this year got the highest possible recognition for his efforts when the Nobel Committee awarded him its 2010 Peace Prize for his "long and nonviolent struggle for fundamental human rights in China." More than 20 years after participating in the 1989 Tiananmen Square demonstrations, the dissident gained global prestige, even if the Chinese tried their best to keep few citizens from hearing the news about a man the state still deems "a criminal."