Liu Xiaobo (December 28, 1955 - July 13, 2017) was a writer, literary critic, human rights activist, and 2010 Nobel Peace Prize laureate.
Liu was a native of Changchun, Jilin Province. After graduating from high school in 1974, Liu went to work as a farmer in a rural commune in Nong'an County, Jilin Province as a send-down youth, and was recruited as a plasterer by the Changchun Construction Company in 1976. In 1977, Liu was admitted to the Department of Chinese Language and Literature at Jilin University, where he graduated with a B.A. in 1982. He was then enrolled in the Department of Chinese Language and Literature at Beijing Normal University, where he received his M.A. and Ph.D., and was appointed as a lecturer in the department. Liu began publishing essays on literature, aesthetics, and politics when he was studying for his master's degree, and published several books, including *The Critique of Choice: Dialogue with Li Zehou*, *Contemporary Politics and Intellectuals of China*, and *The Future of Free China Exists in Civil Society*.
During the 1989 democracy movement, Liu was involved in publicizing, writing, speaking, fundraising for the protests, and gained the trust of the students by participating in the hunger strike, which allowed him to negotiate with the army on June 4 and convinced the students to evacuate. Liu was arrested and accused by the official media of being one of the "black hands" behind the movement, and was fired from his job that same year; in January 1991 Liu was convicted of counter-revolutionary propaganda and incitement but was exempted from criminal punishment for persuading students to evacuate the Tiananmen Square.
Since then Liu worked as a freelance writer in Beijing and engaged in human rights activities, for which he was subjected to punishments such as re-education through labor. In December 2008, Liu participated in the drafting and publicizing of Charter 08. He was convicted of inciting subversion of state power the following year and sentenced to 11 years in prison.
In 2010, Liu was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize while in prison, making him the first Chinese citizen to receive the prize. In June 2017, Liu was granted medical parole after being diagnosed with advanced liver cancer; on July 13, the hospital announced that Liu's condition had deteriorated and he had passed away on the same day.
Liu was a native of Changchun, Jilin Province. After graduating from high school in 1974, Liu went to work as a farmer in a rural commune in Nong'an County, Jilin Province as a send-down youth, and was recruited as a plasterer by the Changchun Construction Company in 1976. In 1977, Liu was admitted to the Department of Chinese Language and Literature at Jilin University, where he graduated with a B.A. in 1982. He was then enrolled in the Department of Chinese Language and Literature at Beijing Normal University, where he received his M.A. and Ph.D., and was appointed as a lecturer in the department. Liu began publishing essays on literature, aesthetics, and politics when he was studying for his master's degree, and published several books, including *The Critique of Choice: Dialogue with Li Zehou*, *Contemporary Politics and Intellectuals of China*, and *The Future of Free China Exists in Civil Society*.
During the 1989 democracy movement, Liu was involved in publicizing, writing, speaking, fundraising for the protests, and gained the trust of the students by participating in the hunger strike, which allowed him to negotiate with the army on June 4 and convinced the students to evacuate. Liu was arrested and accused by the official media of being one of the "black hands" behind the movement, and was fired from his job that same year; in January 1991 Liu was convicted of counter-revolutionary propaganda and incitement but was exempted from criminal punishment for persuading students to evacuate the Tiananmen Square.
Since then Liu worked as a freelance writer in Beijing and engaged in human rights activities, for which he was subjected to punishments such as re-education through labor. In December 2008, Liu participated in the drafting and publicizing of Charter 08. He was convicted of inciting subversion of state power the following year and sentenced to 11 years in prison.
In 2010, Liu was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize while in prison, making him the first Chinese citizen to receive the prize. In June 2017, Liu was granted medical parole after being diagnosed with advanced liver cancer; on July 13, the hospital announced that Liu's condition had deteriorated and he had passed away on the same day.
