Chinese authorities on Thursday told U.S., German and European Union diplomats that Nobel Peace Prize-winning activist Liu Xiaobo cannot be moved to get medical treatment elsewhere due to his illness, a source briefed on the meeting told Reuters. Liu, 61, was jailed for 11 years in 2009 for "inciting subversion of state power" after he helped write a petition known as "Charter 08" calling for sweeping political reforms.
He is being treated in a hospital in the city of Shenyang for late-stage liver cancer after being granted medical parole, his lawyer told Reuters on Monday.
A deputy head of the justice ministry told the diplomats that Liu's family was happy with the treatment he was getting and had agreed he should not be moved, said the source, who declined to be identified.
The diplomats asked that Liu and his wife be allowed to communicate directly with the outside world, choose their own hospital and get treatment from a foreign doctor. But the Chinese side said that may not be possible, according to the source.
Liu's wife, Liu Xia, has been under effective house arrest since her husband won the peace prize in 2010 and was not available for comment on Thursday. Western politicians and rights activists have voiced concern about the quality of Liu's treatment and have said he should be given the option of leaving China if that is the best option.
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