Ex-China protest leader urges Kan to request release of Nobel laureate

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HIROSHIMA, Nov. 13 Kyodo -
Wuer Kaixi, a former student leader at the 1989 Tiananmen protests in China who
is attending a summit of Nobel Peace Prize laureates in Hiroshima, on Saturday
urged Prime Minister Naoto Kan to ask China to release this year's laureate Liu
Xiaobo from prison.
''Prime Minister Kan should urge Chinese President Hu Jintao to release Liu,''
Wuer said in an interview with Kyodo News. ''Japan must tell the Chinese
government that it must respect human rights and fulfill its responsibility as
a member of the international community.''
The remarks were made before Kan and Hu met in Yokohama on the sidelines of the
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit later in the day. The exchanges
between the two were mostly about reaffirming a basic stance on continuing to
promote strategic and mutually beneficial relations.
Wuer, 42, has been attending the 11th World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates
since Friday on behalf of Liu, 54.
China has lashed out over the award body's selection of Liu and has called on
other countries not to attend the awarding ceremony in December in Oslo,
Norway.
Regarding who would attend the ceremony in place of Liu, Wuer said there will
be an announcement from Liu's family and did not elaborate.
==Kyodo
2010-11-13 23:49:50