"This is not a prize against China. This is a prize honouring people in China," Nobel Committee chairman Thorbjoern Jagland insisted at a press conference in Oslo, traditionally held by the laureate on the day before the annual peace prize ceremony.

His comments came as the White House said it believed Liu should be able to receive the award in person.

"We were the previous recipients of that prestigious award and the president and our ambassador strongly believe" that they should participate in a ceremony attended by the winner, said White House spokesman Robert Gibbs.

Ukraine, meanwhile, said it would send a diplomat to the ceremony in response to the furious public reaction sparked by its earlier decision to stay away.

Jagland said he believed the prize to Liu, who remains stuck in a Chinese prison and will not be able to attend Friday's ceremony, would nethertheless change things in Beijing.

"I think the prize and why the prize came will be spreading in the Chinese society. In today's world it is impossible to close a country," he said in a packed Nobel Institute, decked out for the Christmas season with wreaths and red bows and flowers.

China has kept up a barrage of criticism of the award to Liu insisting the vast majority of countries oppose the decision to hand the prize to a man it considers a criminal.

Liu, 54, was jailed in December 2009 for 11 years on subversion charges after co-authoring Charter 08, a bold petition calling for reform in Communist-ruled China.

Jagland acknowledged that he and the rest of the five-member Nobel Committee "had expected harsh reactions from the Chinese authorities," but said he felt it was important to convey a message to Beijing: "With power comes responsibility."

China, which has soared to become the world's second largest economic power, "should get used to being debated and criticised," in the same way the United States is, he said.

"Further economic development in China must be combined with political reforms," Jagland insisted, pointing out that this was a matter of international concern since "the fate of China will be the fate of the world."

Speaking of the empty chair that will represent this year's absent prize winner, he said "it is a very strong symbol (that) shows how appropriate this prize was."

China has threatened "consequences" for countries that show their support for this year's laureate, but Nobel Institute director Geir Lundestad pointed out that 45 embassies had accepted invitations to the event.

Besides China, 18 countries have declined to attend: Afghanistan, Algeria, Colombia, Cuba, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Morocco, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tunisia, Venezuela and Vietnam.

China, which blasted US lawmakers Thursday as "arrogant" for passing a vote of support for Liu and calling for his release, has meanwhile stepped up a crackdown on activists at home.

Scores of dissidents have been placed under house arrest, surveillance, or made subject to other restrictions on their movements or communications with the outside world since Liu's prize was announced in October.

Amnesty International meanwhile gathered around 100 protesters in front of the Chinese embassy in Oslo Thursday afternoon and attempted to hand over a petition in support of Liu.

However the large metal gate around the mission building remained closed and the windows were shuttered.

The head of Amnesty's Norway chapter, John Peder Egenaes, told AFP that around 100,000 people, mainly from Europe and the United States, had signed the petition.

Unable to hand over the petition, activists stacked the petition outside the embassy building to demonstrate the strength of support for Liu.

Amnesty and the Nobel Institute have both accused Beijing of pressuring people of Chinese origin living in Oslo to protest against Liu.

Friday will mark only the second time in the more than 100-year history of the prize that neither the laureate nor a representative will be able to come to accept the award.

The only other time was when German journalist and pacifist Carl von Ossietzky, who was locked up in a Nazi concentration camp, could not travel to Oslo for his prize ceremony in 1936.

earlier related report
Who's staying away from Nobel peace ceremony
Oslo (AFP) Dec 9, 2010 - Some 20 countries including China have refused Norway's invitation to Friday's ceremony awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to jailed Chinese dissident Liu Xiabao.

Most have close ties to China, do not want to anger Beijing or have a tendency to take a hard line against their own dissidents.

Those who have said they are staying away are Afghanistan, Algeria, China, Colombia, Cuba, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Kazakhstan, Morocco, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tunisia, Venezuela and Vietnam.

Ukraine and the Philippines had first declined their invitations, but Nobel Institute director Geir Lundestad said Thursday they had changed their mind.

At the same time, he said, Algeria had been added to the absentee list and "we believe that Argentina will not be coming, or at least will not be represented by the ambassador."

Russia, which signed trade agreements with China last month worth 8.5 billion dollars, has officially pleaded prior engagements for its absence, while Serbia has admitted its desire to maintain good relations with Beijing.

Other countries like Pakistan and Sri Lanka have economic and defence ties with China, while Iraq, Iran and Saudi Arabia supply it with oil.

Iran also relies on Chinese support in the UN Security Council to fight sanctions against its nuclear programme, and will not have forgotten the Peace Prize awarded to one of its own dissidents, Shirin Ebadi, in 2003.

Most of the 65 countries with embassies in Oslo will be represented, including Western powers from the European Union and the United States, as well as Japan, which has a territorial dispute with China.

Emerging economic powers which are potential rivals rather than partners of China will also be there, including Brazil, lndia, Indonesia, South Africa and South Korea.

del.icio.us	Digg	Reddit
YahooMyWeb	Google	Facebook

Memory Foam Mattress Review

SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS Solar Energy Solutions Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ... Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News