The Wire

Chinese democracy activist Liu Xiaobo was announced as the winner of the nobel peace prize on Friday. Liu remains behind bars, having been jailed late last year for his political activities. Leaders around the world have issued statements congratulating Liu, including U.S. President Barack Obama, and Australia’s Prime Minister, Julia Gillard. But back in February the Labor government failed to support a motion in the Senate calling for Liu Xiaobo’s release. The Australian Greens say that the prize points to Ozlo’s courage, and Canberra’s cowardice when it comes to speaking up about China’s human rights abuses.