The release of the Chinese Nobel Peace laureate Liu Xiaobo's widow from eight years of house arrest this week brought some comfort to China's activists. But the rare triumph for human rights in China was short-lived: Her brother was forced to stay behind, ensuring Liu Xia stayed silent on the one-year anniversary of her husband's death Friday.
Flowers are placed by the monument of the late Chinese Nobel Peace laureate Liu Xiaobo in Hong Kong, Friday, July 13, 2018, to mark the first death anniversary of the China's most prominent political prisoner. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
People place flowers to mourn the late Chinese Nobel Peace laureate Liu Xiaobo in Hong Kong, Friday, July 13, 2018, to mark the first death anniversary of the China's most prominent political prisoner. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Memorials are planned in Hong Kong and Berlin, where Liu Xia landed this week after years of international calls to free her from the isolation China imposed to quell any encouragement Liu Xiaobo's Nobel might have had on human rights activists.
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The release of the Chinese Nobel Peace laureate Liu Xiaobo's widow from eight years of house arrest this week brought some comfort to China's activists. But the rare triumph for human rights in China was short-lived: Her brother was forced to stay behind, ensuring Liu Xia stayed silent on the one-year anniversary of her husband's death Friday.
People place flowers to mourn the late Chinese Nobel Peace laureate Liu Xiaobo in Hong Kong, Friday, July 13, 2018, to mark the first death anniversary of the China's most prominent political prisoner. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Memorials are planned in Hong Kong and Berlin, where Liu Xia landed this week after years of international calls to free her from the isolation China imposed to quell any encouragement Liu Xiaobo's Nobel might have had on human rights activists.
People attend a candlelight vigil to mourn the late Chinese Nobel Peace laureate Liu Xiaobo in Hong Kong, Friday, July 13, 2018, to mark his first death anniversary. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Rights groups have said Liu will feel pressured to remain silent as long as her brother Liu Hui remains in China. Liu Xia was never charged with a crime and is seen worldwide as a tragic victim of her love for an enemy of the Chinese state.
People attend a candlelight vigil to mourn the late Chinese Nobel Peace laureate Liu Xiaobo in Hong Kong, Friday, July 13, 2018, to mark the first death anniversary of the China's most prominent political prisoner. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Despite the constraints on the widow and concerns about her health, Martin-Liao struck an optimistic note.
Exiled Chinese dissident Wu'er Kaixi, left, a student of Chinese Nobel Peace laureate Liu Xiaobo, poses for media with a sculpture of Liu Xiaobo during a ceremony to mark the one-year anniversary of his death, in Taipei, Taiwan, Friday, July 13, 2018. The words read " I have no enemies." (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)
Back in mainland China, the authorities have gone to great lengths to prevent attempts to pay tribute to Liu Xiaobo.
In this Thursday, July 12, 2018, photo provided Friday, July 13, 2018, by Tienchi Martin-Liao, Liu Xia, right, the widow of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo, stands with friend Tienchi Martin-Liao in a residence in Berlin, Germany. (Tienchi Martin-Liao via AP)
In this July 12, 2018, photo provided on July 13, 2018, by Tienchi Martin-Liao, Liu Xia, the widow of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo, stands in a residence in Berlin, Germany. (Tienchi Martin-Liao via AP)
Hu, speaking by phone from his enforced trip, said he remembered Liu Xiaobo for being courageous in his convictions and having humanitarian spirit.
(AP Photo/Vincent Yu)
A banner of with picture of late Chinese Nobel Peace laureate Liu Xiaobo is displayed during a protest outside the Chinese liaison office in Hong Kong, Friday, July 13, 2018, to mark the first death anniversary of Liu. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)
"They say that China has entered a new era, and indeed that is the case," said Bao Tong, a former high-ranking Communist Party official and friend of the couple. "So long as you are living as a Chinese citizen, you are in a constant state of defending your rights, because your rights are in a constant state of being infringed upon."
The administration of President Xi Jinping, the most powerful Chinese leader since Mao Zedong, has led a widespread crackdown on civil society, targeting human rights lawyers and other independent groups considered a threat to the ruling party.
Protesters hold placards with the picture of late Chinese Nobel Peace laureate Liu Xiaobo during a protest in Hong Kong, Friday, July 13, 2018, to mark the first death anniversary of the China's most prominent political prisoner. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)
But the poet and artist Liu Xia herself will be noticeably absent.
Tienchi Martin-Liao, a Chinese-born writer based in Germany and friend of the couple, said Liu cannot meet with the public or speak to the media for "reasons that have nothing to do with her health."
"She wants to join, but she cannot," Martin-Liao said Friday by phone.
A woman wears a T-shirt with pictures of the late Chinese Nobel Peace laureate Liu Xiaobo and Liu Xia during the candlelight vigil in Hong Kong, Friday, July 13, 2018, to mark the first death anniversary of the China's most prominent political prisoner. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
People attend a candlelight vigil to mourn the late Chinese Nobel Peace laureate Liu Xiaobo in Hong Kong, Friday, July 13, 2018, to mark his first death anniversary. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Rights groups have said Liu will feel pressured to remain silent as long as her brother Liu Hui remains in China. Liu Xia was never charged with a crime and is seen worldwide as a tragic victim of her love for an enemy of the Chinese state.
Liu Xiaobo was serving an 11-year sentence for "inciting subversion of state power" when he died of liver cancer last summer. He helped write Charter 08, a manifesto calling for political and economic liberalization.
In 2010, while Liu was in prison, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. China was outraged and denounced the Nobel committee as celebrating a criminal. Liu Xia was put under house arrest, with guards at her apartment building keeping away visitors, soon after she returned from telling him in prison that he had been given the honor.
The isolation drove her into depression. Martin-Liao said Liu Xia's psychological condition has greatly improved since she arrived in Berlin, but they are awaiting medical consultations before changing drugs given to her by Chinese state security agents during her house arrest.
A man wears a T-shirt with the picture of the late Chinese Nobel Peace laureate Liu Xiaobo during the candlelight vigil in Hong Kong, Friday, July 13, 2018, to mark the first death anniversary of the China's most prominent political prisoner. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
People attend a candlelight vigil to mourn the late Chinese Nobel Peace laureate Liu Xiaobo in Hong Kong, Friday, July 13, 2018, to mark the first death anniversary of the China's most prominent political prisoner. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Despite the constraints on the widow and concerns about her health, Martin-Liao struck an optimistic note.
"But on the whole, she's in really good spirits," Martin-Liao said. "You've seen the pictures: She is like a small bird that has flown out."
A staff member gestures in front of a portrait of Chinese Nobel Peace laureate Liu Xiaobo during a ceremony to mark one-year anniversary of his death, in Taipei, Taiwan, Friday, July 13, 2018. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)
Exiled Chinese dissident Wu'er Kaixi, left, a student of Chinese Nobel Peace laureate Liu Xiaobo, poses for media with a sculpture of Liu Xiaobo during a ceremony to mark the one-year anniversary of his death, in Taipei, Taiwan, Friday, July 13, 2018. The words read " I have no enemies." (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)
Back in mainland China, the authorities have gone to great lengths to prevent attempts to pay tribute to Liu Xiaobo.
Because Liu's ashes were buried in the ocean in proceedings that were closely controlled by the authorities, supporters have tried to hold memorials by various seashores. Some among them have been detained or arrested.
On Friday, police escorted Beijing activist Hu Jia to the northern city of Chongli, which doesn't have a coastline, to prevent him from marking the anniversary.
In this July 12, 2018, photo provided on July 13, 2018, by Tienchi Martin-Liao, Liu Xia, the widow of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo, holds an award in the likeness of her husband in Berlin, Germany. (Tienchi Martin-Liao via AP)
In this Thursday, July 12, 2018, photo provided Friday, July 13, 2018, by Tienchi Martin-Liao, Liu Xia, right, the widow of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo, stands with friend Tienchi Martin-Liao in a residence in Berlin, Germany. (Tienchi Martin-Liao via AP)
In this July 12, 2018, photo provided on July 13, 2018, by Tienchi Martin-Liao, Liu Xia, the widow of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo, stands in a residence in Berlin, Germany. (Tienchi Martin-Liao via AP)
Hu, speaking by phone from his enforced trip, said he remembered Liu Xiaobo for being courageous in his convictions and having humanitarian spirit.
"He was called a traitor, an enemy of the nation," Hu said. "But in fact, he did everything out of love and humanity — he was truly human."
Government critics reflecting on the anniversary said Liu Xia's release did little to change the reality that the harshest crackdown on civil liberties in decades was continuing unabated. On Wednesday, a veteran pro-democracy campaigner was sentenced to 13 years in prison for "subversion" — a similar charge to Liu Xiaobo's.
Protesters hold pictures of late Chinese Nobel Peace laureate Liu Xiaobo during a protest outside the Chinese liaison office in Hong Kong, Friday, July 13, 2018, to mark the first death anniversary of Liu, China's most prominent political prisoner. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)
(AP Photo/Vincent Yu)
A banner of with picture of late Chinese Nobel Peace laureate Liu Xiaobo is displayed during a protest outside the Chinese liaison office in Hong Kong, Friday, July 13, 2018, to mark the first death anniversary of Liu. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)
"They say that China has entered a new era, and indeed that is the case," said Bao Tong, a former high-ranking Communist Party official and friend of the couple. "So long as you are living as a Chinese citizen, you are in a constant state of defending your rights, because your rights are in a constant state of being infringed upon."
A protester holds a picture of imprisoned and prominent Chinese human rights lawyer Wang Quanzhang during a protest outside the Chinese liaison office in Hong Kong, Friday, July 13, 2018, to mark the first death anniversary of Liu Xiaobo, China's most prominent political prisoner, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)
The administration of President Xi Jinping, the most powerful Chinese leader since Mao Zedong, has led a widespread crackdown on civil society, targeting human rights lawyers and other independent groups considered a threat to the ruling party.
Bao was hopeful that history would ultimately side with Liu.
A protester throws paper money as she pays respect to late Chinese Nobel Peace laureate Liu Xiaobo during a protest outside the Chinese liaison office in Hong Kong, Friday, July 13, 2018, to mark the first death anniversary of China's most prominent political prisoner, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)
Protesters hold placards with the picture of late Chinese Nobel Peace laureate Liu Xiaobo during a protest in Hong Kong, Friday, July 13, 2018, to mark the first death anniversary of the China's most prominent political prisoner. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)
"History is not going to say that China had a criminal named Liu Xiaobo," Bao said. "Rather, it will say that China had many people who longed for a democratic, constitutional government, but they were thrown into jail by those in power at the time."
