Nobel jury chief places Peace Prize on Liu's empty chair

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OSLO, Dec 10, (agencies): The head of the Nobel Committee Friday placed the Peace Prize diploma and gold medal on an empty chair representing absent laureate Liu Xiaobo, who languishes in a Chinese prison.
"We regret that the laureate is not present here today," Thorbjoern Jagland said, standing on a flower-covered podium in the Oslo city hall under a large smiling portrait of the absent laureate.
Jagland placed the prestigious award on the empty chair, explaining it was impossible to hand it to Liu or any of his close family members, who were prevented from travelling to Oslo for the ceremony.
Liu, 54, is an author and former professor who was at the forefront of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests.
He was jailed in December 2009 for 11 years on subversion charges after co-authoring "Charter 08", a manifesto that spread quickly on the Internet calling for political reform and greater rights in China.
Meanwhile:Global news networks CNN and BBC went black in China Friday as their broadcasts began of the Nobel committee's ceremony in Oslo to honour 2010 peace laureate Liu Xiaobo.
The broadcasts of the global news giants as well as the French-language satellite channel TV5 have been blacked out in parts of China throughout Friday and again were cut as the ceremony in Oslo began.
Liu was jailed in December 2009 for 11 years on subversion charges after co-authoring "Charter 08", a manifesto calling for political reform and greater rights in China.
Beijing has reacted with fury to the award, describing the Norwegian Nobel Committee as "clowns" and threatening other countries to stay away from the ceremony, while preventing the jailed dissident or a representative from travelling to Oslo to receive the award in person.
China has also been blocking the news websites of the three broadcasters as well as many other overseas news sites reporting on Liu's award.
Another report adds: Jailed Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo has done nothing wrong and Beijing must release him, the head of the Nobel jury said Friday at a ceremony in honour of the absent peace prize laureate.
"Liu has only exercised his civil rights. He has not done anything wrong. He must be released," Nobel Committee chairman Thorbjoern Jagland said.
Liu, 54, is an author and former professor who was at the forefront of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests.
He was jailed in December 2009 for 11 years on subversion charges after co-authoring "Charter 08", a manifesto that spread quickly on the Internet calling for political reform and greater rights in China.
Standing on a flower-decked podium in the Oslo city hall next to an empty chair and a large portrait of a smiling Liu, Jagland pointed out that China's constitution gives its citizens the right to "freedom of speech, of the press, of assembly, of association, of procession and of demonstration."
He also pointed out how "in the past 100 to 150 years, human rights and democracy have gained an ever-stronger position in the world."