Chinese activist Hu Jia says he has been forced to leave Beijing on the anniversary of Liu Xiaobo’s death on Friday.
Liu Xiaobo was a Chinese poet who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010. He was jailed for 11 years for inciting “subversion of state power,” after he penned Charter ’08 – a manifesto urging democratic reform. He died a year ago this Friday after battling liver cancer while on medical parole, making him the first Nobel laureate to die in custody since 1938.
Hu said he was forced to remain in Chongli district, Hebei province, on Friday, but he will pay attention to the Liu Xiaobo memorial service at Gethsemane Church in Berlin, Germany.
Hu told Radio France Internationale that he could not pay tribute to Liu near the sea, a method of remembrance adopted by activists as Liu’s ashes were scattered at sea.
“I will be at the hotel where I was put, will find an empty chair to put Xiaobo’s photo, and will light a candle and place a flower to quietly remember him,” Hu said.
Wei Xiaobing, another activist, also said he was forced to leave Guangdong ahead of the anniversary. He was sent back to his hometown of Chengdu.
Wei was one of the activists detained by Chinese authorities after they mourned Liu Xiaobo by the sea last year. He said he was held for a month before being sent back to his hometown.
“I have been forced to go back and forth like this for more than a dozen times, and my father was also affected and died in desperation,” he said on social media.
“Thank the party! Thank the country!” he said satirically.
Hong Kong activists are set to hold a memorial at Admiralty’s Tamar Park at 8pm on Friday.
