Liu Xiaobo e Yang Lian

Liu Xiaobo was born in Jilin Province, China on December 28, 1955. He worked as a professor and a literary critic. His first book, Criticism of the Choice: Dialogues with Li Zehou, was published in 1987. He also wrote June Fourth Elegies: Poems. In 1989, he kept vigil at Tiananmen Square to protect protesters from soldiers. This act lead to his arrest and 21 months in detention. In 1996, he was sent to a labor camp for three years after demanding clemency for those still in prison for joining the demonstrations. In 2008, he and fellow activists released Charter 08, a petition calling for democracy and an end to censorship. He was arrested and sentenced to 11 years in prison. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010. He died while still imprisoned from liver cancer on July 13, 2017 at the age of 61.

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