"Those at the Nobel committee are orchestrating an anti-China fuss by themselves," foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told reporters.

"We are against anybody making an issue out of Liu Xiaobo and interfering in China's judicial affairs."

She added: "We will not change because of interference by a few clowns."

The Nobel committee is set to hold an award ceremony in Oslo for Liu on Friday, which is Human Rights Day, marking the adoption in 1948 by the UN General Assembly of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Liu, a writer and academic who has boldly fought for reform of China's one-party political system for more than two decades, was jailed in December 2009 for 11 years on subversion charges.

No one is expected to be on hand to accept the award on behalf of Liu, who was named as the Nobel peace laureate in October.

His wife, Liu Xia, has been under house arrest since that time, other family members are under pressure not to speak publicly and many of Liu's fellow dissidents and supporters have been warned not to attend or have been physically prevented from leaving China, activists have said.

Diplomats have also said China -- which has been deeply embarrassed by the award -- has pressured other governments not to send their representatives to the ceremony.

Jiang said "more than 100 countries and international organisations" had "expressed explicit support of China's position opposing this year's Nobel peace prize", but she declined to provide details.

She said this showed that Liu's award was "not accepted by the vast majority of countries who uphold justice".

However, the Nobel Institute in Oslo quickly rejected that claim, with its director Geir Lundestad saying most countries that had been invited would indeed attend the ceremony.

"You only have to look at the figures. The vast majority of countries invited will be represented," Lundestad told AFP.

According to the Nobel Institute, 44 embassies have accepted invitations to the event while 19 have refused "for various reasons" and two have not replied.

"We're really delighted that two-thirds of the countries invited have given us a positive response," Lundestad said.

"It is especially pleasing to see that countries like India, Brazil, South Africa and even Indonesia said yes. That means a lot to us," he added, confirming that outgoing US House speaker Nancy Pelosi would be among the attendees.

Asked about China's "clown" comment, Lundestad said: "This does not surprise us so much. They have used strong expressions all along."

Liu was jailed after he co-authored "Charter 08", a 2008 manifesto calling for political reform and greater rights in China that spread quickly on the Internet.

Human rights activists say Liu was jailed after merely exercising his right to free speech, which is guaranteed in China's constitution.

Activists say the Communist Party government routinely abuses its subversion charges as a tool for silencing critics.

China has furiously rejected any criticism, branding Liu a "criminal" and warning other countries against interfering in its judicial system.

An ethnic Chinese Australian national and friend of Liu, Zhang Heci, said police detained him for 24 hours at Shanghai's airport and forced him to return home in a bid to block him from attending the prize ceremony.

Zhang was headed to Norway via China, he said in a letter to Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd seen on Tuesday by AFP.

Zhang said police boarded his flight after it landed at Shanghai's Pudong airport and brought him to a holding area where he was searched, interrogated and not allowed to call his wife or the Australian consulate.

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