[33] It comprehensively criticized the Chinese tradition of Confucianism, and posed a frank challenge to Li Zehou, a rising ideological star who had a strong influence on contemporaneous young intellectuals in China.

[41][42]In an article in The New York Review of Books, Simon Leys wrote that Liu Xiaobo's perception of the West and its relationship to a modernizing China evolved during his travels in the United States and Europe in the 1980s.

[43] During a visit to the Metropolitan Museum in New York City, he experienced a sort of epiphany that crystallized the turmoil of his latest self-questioning: he realized the shallowness of his own learning in the light of the fabulous riches of the diverse civilizations of the past, and simultaneously perceived the inadequacy of contemporary Western answers to mankind's modern predicament.

I must: In 2002, he reflected on his initial Maoist-flavored radical esthetic and political views in the 1980s:[44] I realize my entire youth and early writings had all been nurtured in hatred, violence and arrogance, or lies, cynicism and sarcasm.

[44]Liu admitted in 2006 in another interview with Open Magazine (formerly known as Liberation Monthly) that his 1988 response of "300 years of colonialism" was extemporaneous, although he did not intend to retract it, because it represented "an extreme expression of his longheld belief".

In his letter to his friend Liao Yiwu in 2000, he expressed his thoughts on the prospects of the democracy movement in China: Compared to others under the Communist black curtain, we cannot call ourselves real men.

"[47] In 2009 during his trial for "inciting subversion of state power" due to his participation in drafting the Charter 08 manifesto which demanded freedom of expression, human rights and democratic elections, he wrote an essay known as "I Have No Enemies", stating that "the mentality of enmity can poison a nation's spirit, instigate brutal life and death struggles, destroy a society's tolerance and humanity, and block a nation's progress towards freedom and democracy", and he declared that he had no enemies, and no hatred.

[57] In January 1991, 19 months after his arrest, Liu Xiaobo was convicted of "counterrevolutionary propaganda and incitement"[12] but he was exempted from criminal punishment due to his "major meritorious action" for preventing what could have been a bloody confrontation in Tiananmen Square.

[58] On 18 May 1995, the Chinese police took Liu into custody for launching a petition campaign on the eve of the sixth anniversary of the Tiananmen protests calling on the government to reassess the event and initiate political reform.

[68] Liu Xiaobo was one of the authors of Charter 08, a manifesto that called for freedom of expression, human rights, more democratic elections, the privatization of state enterprises and land, and economic liberalism.

[77] On 23 June 2009, the Beijing procuratorate approved Liu's arrest on charges of "suspicion of inciting subversion of state power," a crime under Article 105 of China's Criminal Law.

He argued that charges against him of 'spreading rumors, slandering and in other ways inciting the subversion of the government and overturning the socialist system' were contrived, as he did not fabricate or create false information, nor did he besmirch the good name and character of others by merely expressing a point of view, a value judgment.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China asserted that there are similar laws in many countries to prevent activities to advocate the overthrow of government, such as the Treason Act 1351 of England.

[88] Additionally, on 21 January 2009, 300 international writers, including Salman Rushdie, Margaret Atwood, Ha Jin and Jung Chang, called for Liu's release in a statement put out through PEN.

[93] German Chancellor Angela Merkel strongly criticized the verdict, stating "despite the great progress in other areas in the expression of views, I regret that the Chinese government still massively restricts press freedom.

[99] On 18 January 2010, Liu was nominated for the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize by Václav Havel, the 14th Dalai Lama, André Glucksmann, Vartan Gregorian, Mike Moore, Karel Schwarzenberg, Desmond Tutu and Grigory Yavlinsky.

[104] The Republic of China's President Ma Ying-jiu congratulated Liu on winning the Nobel Prize and requested that the Chinese authorities improve their impression in the eyes of the world by respecting human rights, but did not call for his release from prison.

The "Freedom for Liu Xiaobo" appeal was supported by more than 700 writers from around the world, among them Nobel Prize laureates John M. Coetzee, Nadine Gordimer, Herta Müller and Elfriede Jelinek, as well as Breyten Breytenbach, Eliot Weinberger, Salman Rushdie, Vikram Seth, Mario Vargas Llosa, Wolf Biermann and Dave Eggers.

[121][122][123][124] The Norwegian ambassador to the People's Republic of China was summoned by the Foreign Ministry on 8 October 2010 and presented with an official complaint about the granting of the Nobel Peace Prize to Liu.

[138] The Shenyang Justice Ministry released a statement on 5 July saying that the First Hospital of China Medical University, where Liu was being treated, has invited cancer experts from the United States, Germany and other nations to join its team of doctors.

[145] On 10 July, the hospital said that Liu was in critical condition, and that he was suffering from an increasingly bloated stomach, an inflamed abdominal wall, falling blood pressure, faltering kidneys, growing cancer lesions, and that they were actively rescuing him,[146][147] and were starting to use continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT).

Censors deleted images or emojis of candles, or a simple "RIP"; searches on Weibo regarding Liu's health returned the message: "According to relevant laws and policies, results for 'Liu Xiaobo' cannot be displayed".

[162] The funeral was organized in a heavy-handed fashion in which Chinese government attempted to defend their treatment of Liu and his wife, even though it was clear they and their family members were under perpetual surveillance.

His eldest brother, Liu Xiaoguang appeared at the same press briefing, thanked the Chinese Communist party and also the government "because everything they have done for our family shows a high level of humanity and personal care to us".

[179] The Dalai Lama issued the following short statement on 14 July 2017, "I am deeply saddened to learn that fellow Nobel Laureate Liu Xiaobo has passed away while undergoing a lengthy prison sentence.

Although he is no longer living, the rest of us can best pay honor to Liu Xiaobo by carrying forward the principles he has long embodied, which would lead to a more harmonious, stable and prosperous China.

[188] An official statement by the Norwegian Nobel Committee blamed the Chinese communist regime for Liu Xiaobo's death and condemned the erosion of human rights as a universal value; on behalf of the committee, chairwoman Reiss-Andersen said that "Liu Xiaobo had contributed to the fraternity of peoples through his non-violent resistance against the oppressive actions of the Communist regime in China" and that "the Chinese Government bears a heavy responsibility for his premature death".

"[152] United Kingdom: Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson called Liu a "lifelong campaigner for democracy, human rights and peace", and said that his death was a huge loss.

[201] Back on 18 May, both Republican Senator Ted Cruz and Representative Mark Meadows had re-introduced bills to resume their push to rename the address of Embassy of China in Washington, D.C. as "1 Liu Xiaobo Plaza.

"[202][203] Bob Fu, a Chinese American human rights activist and pastor, told The Texas Tribune that he is "definitely more optimistic" about Cruz's bill getting enacted with President Trump in office.