Websites of CNN, BBC blocked, and Nobel coverage blacked out on TV
The latest bout of censorship in China relates to the blocking of news websites, including CNN, BBC, and the Norwegian broadcaster NRK, a day before the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony was to be held in Oslo to honor Liu Xiaobo. The move follows China’s denouncement of the decision by the Nobel committee to award this year’s prize to Liu, the imprisoned Chinese dissident who is serving an 11-year prison sentence for his pro-democracy campaign. China has criticized Norway for imposing their values on the eastern nation and censors have also apparently begun blocking reports on foreign television networks about Liu. In recent weeks, CNN and BBC television broadcasts have repeatedly gone dark in China during news segments about the Nobel Prize. China has not said that it is intentionally blocking the sites. However, in Beijing on Tuesday, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Jiang Yu, made China’s feelings about the Nobel clear: “By awarding this year’s Nobel Peace Prize to a criminal serving his sentence because of breaking Chinese law, the Norwegian Nobel committee’s move constitutes open support of illegal criminal activities in China and flagrant interference in China’s judicial sovereignty.”