Standing ovation for empty chair

It was the first time in 74 years the prestigious ufffd9,00,000 (Rs 6.42 cr) award was not handed over, because Liu is serving an 11-year sentence in China on subversion charges for urging sweeping changes to Beijing's one-party communist political system.

China was infuriated when the 54-year-old literary critic won, describing the award as an attack on its political and legal system.

Authorities have placed his wife, Liu Xia, under house arrest to prevent anyone from picking up his prize.

In China, both CNN and BBC TV channels went blacku00a0 for nearly an hour, exactly when the Oslo ceremony took place. Security outside Liu's Beijing apartment was heavy and several dozen journalists were herded by police to a cordoned-off area.

In his speech, Norwegian Nobel Committee Chairman Thorbjorn Jagland called for Liu's release, receiving an unusual standing ovation at the international gathering.

"He has not done anything wrong. He must be released," Jagland said. He noted that neither Liu nor his closest relatives were able to attend the ceremony.
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"This fact alone shows that the award was necessary and appropriate," Jagland said. He placed the Nobel diploma on the empty chair marking Liu's absence.

Norwegian actress Liv Ullman read Liu's final statement, I Have No Enemies, which he delivered in a Chinese court in 2009 before he was jailed.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry described the award as a "political farce".

US President Barack Obama said, "Liu Xiaobo is far more deserving of this award than I was."

Twice in 100 years
Yesterday was only the second time in the more than 100-year history of the prize that the laureate was unable to accept the award. The only other time was when German journalist Carl von Ossietzky, was locked up in a Nazi concentration camp, and not attend his prize ceremony in 1936.

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