Furtive last rites for a political prisoner
The government does not want people to mourn for Liu Xiaobo, a late Nobel laureate
The Chinese government got rid of Liu Xiaobo in hugger-mugger. After arranging a short memorial service for the Nobel peace-prize laureate (family members and secret police only), it hastily took the group out to sea to deposit his ashes. Mr Liu’s elder brother thanked the Communist Party for carrying out the family’s wishes. But nothing was heard from his widow, Liu Xia (pictured on the boat). She remains under house arrest—guilty by association. In a letter to her from his deathbed, Mr Liu praised her “calmness that confronts suffering”. Tributes to him could only be oblique. Tens of thousands shared online a Taiwanese pop song. Its first verse runs: “You disappeared from the far end of the sea…I wanted to say something but didn’t know where to start. I just bury you in the bottom of my heart.” Despite no-holds-barred censorship of everything connected with Mr Liu, this eulogy slipped through the censors’ net.
This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline "Stifled laments"
From the July 22nd 2017 edition
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