Nobel Prize: Liu Xiaobo's final statement

Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo was sent to jail in 2009 for writing a document urging China's government to move towards multi-party democracy. Before he was sentenced, he issued a document entitled "I have no enemies: My final statement". Lobby group Human Rights in China published the statement and has it in full on its website. Below are excerpts from their translation.

Goodwill to China's rulers

Hatred can rot away at a person's intelligence and conscience. Enemy mentality will poison the spirit of a nation, incite cruel mortal struggles, destroy a society's tolerance and humanity, and hinder a nation's progress toward freedom and democracy.

That is why I hope to be able to transcend my personal experiences as I look upon our nation's development and social change, to counter the regime's hostility with utmost goodwill, and to dispel hatred with love.

Human rights in China

In 2004, the National People's Congress (NPC) amended the Constitution, writing into the Constitution for the first time that "the state respects and guarantees human rights", signalling that human rights have already become one of the fundamental principles of China's rule of law.

At the same time, the current regime puts forth the ideas of "putting people first" and "creating a harmonious society", signalling progress in the [Communist Party's] concept of rule.

Optimism for the future

I firmly believe that China's political progress will not stop, and I, filled with optimism, look forward to the advent of a future free China.

For there is no force that can put an end to the human quest for freedom, and China will in the end become a nation ruled by law, where human rights reign supreme.

I also hope that this sort of progress can be reflected in this trial as I await the impartial ruling of the collegial bench ‑ a ruling that will withstand the test of history.

A wife's love

The most fortunate experience of these past 20 years has been the selfless love I have received from my wife, Liu Xia.

Your love is the sunlight that leaps over high walls and penetrates the iron bars of my prison window, stroking every inch of my skin, warming every cell of my body, allowing me to always keep peace, openness, and brightness in my heart, and filling every minute of my time in prison with meaning.

My love for you, on the other hand, is so full of remorse and regret that it at times makes me stagger under its weight. I am an insensate stone in the wilderness, whipped by fierce wind and torrential rain, so cold that no one dares touch me. But my love is solid and sharp, capable of piercing through any obstacle. Even if I were crushed into powder, I would still use my ashes to embrace you.

Freedom of speech

I hope that I will be the last victim of China's endless literary inquisitions and that from now on no-one will be incriminated because of speech.

Freedom of expression is the foundation of human rights, the source of humanity, and the mother of truth. To strangle freedom of speech is to trample on human rights, stifle humanity, and suppress truth.