GAOMI: Chinese Nobel Literature Prize winner Mo Yan unexpectedly called for the release of jailed compatriot Liu Xiaobo, who won the Nobel Peace Prize two years ago, having come under fire from rights activists for not speaking up for him.
The author, a portly 57-year-old whose adopted pen name Mo Yan means “don’t speak”, said he had read some of Liu’s literary criticisms in the 1980s, but that he had no understanding of Liu’s work once it had turned towards politics.
“I hope he can achieve his freedom as soon as possible,” Mo told reporters today in his hometown of Gaomi in the northern province of Shandong, in bold remarks likely to embarrass Beijing which has lauded his victory and denigrated Liu’s prize.
Liu should be able to research his “politics and social system”, Mo said without elaborating
A number of dissidents and other writers have said Mo was unworthy of winning as he had shied away from commenting on Liu’s plight.
They have also denounced him for commemorating a speech by former paramount leader Mao Zedong.
But Mo, whose real name is Guan Moye, shot back at those criticisms.
“I believe that the people who have criticised me have not read my books,” he said. “If they had read my books they would understand that my writings at that time took on a great deal of risk and were under pressure.
“Many of the people who have criticized me online are Communist Party members themselves. They also work within the system. And some have benefited tremendously within the system,” he added.
“I am working in China,” he said. “I am writing in a China under Communist Party leaders. But my works cannot be restricted by political parties.”
Mo, who was once so destitute he ate tree bark and weeds to survive, is the first Chinese national to win the $1.2 million literature prize
He is best known in the West for “Red Sorghum”, which portrays the hardships endured by farmers in the early years of communist rule and was made in a film directed by Zhang Yimou.
His books also include “Big Breasts and Wide Hips” and “The Republic of Wine”.
Prominent dissident Hu Jia, a close friend of Liu’s, praised Mo’s apparent sudden change of heart.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei repeated government criticism of Liu’s award, saying it amounted to “grave meddling in China’s internal affairs and judicial sovereignty”. (Reuters)
