The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) today condemned efforts by Beijing to prevent the Nobel Peace Prize going to a Chinese dissident by issuing threats and publishing self-critical statements. "Five Chinese dissidents and one Uighur from the Chinese province of Xinjiang are highly placed as possible recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize this year, 21 years after it was awarded to the Dalai Lama," said Ulrich Delius, head of the Asia section at the STP. The dissidents are among 230 nominees for the prize. The winner of this year's Nobel Peace Prize will be announced on October 8.

A spokeswoman for the Chinese foreign ministry declared on Tuesday that awarding the prize to imprisoned author Liu Xiaobo would send the wrong message, because he is a criminal offender. As early as June 2010, during a visit to Oslo, deputy foreign minister Fu Ying warned her Norwegian counterpart that Beijing would look on it as an unfriendly act if the dissident receives the prize.

In its ninth White Paper on the human rights situation, released last Sunday, the government self-critically admitted for the first time that there was "much room for improvement in the area of human rights." "This self-criticism can hardly be taken seriously, since the White Paper abounds with falsehoods and distortions," Delius pointed out. For example, China praised itself many times for its policies regarding minorities. "In reality, the human rights situation in Tibet is worse than it has been in the last 20 years. The number of political prisoners has jumped from 110 to 1600 since 2007 – a 15-fold increase." The neighboring region of Xinjiang/East Turkestan is as quiet as the grave following a wave of mass arrests, Delius added. The languages of both the Uighurs in that region and of the Tibetans are being destroyed.

Author Liu Xiaobo, condemned in December 2009 to 11 years in prison, is said to have particularly good chances of winning the Nobel Peace Prize. Other promising candidates include imprisoned civil rights activist Hu Jia, Uighur human rights activist Rebiya Kadeer and human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng. Another candidate on the list is Chen Guangcheng, released in September 2010 after serving four years in prison. He is said to be a critic of China's one-child policy.

Bao Tong, a former high-ranking functionary in the Communist Party, is also registered with the Nobel Committee as a candidate for the Peace Prize. He is calling for a reassessment of the Tiananmen Square massacre.

For more information, contact the head of the STP's Asien section, Ulrich Delius.

Translated by Elizabeth Crawford