What, no editorials from Taiwan's China Post, cheering on Liu Xiaobo for the Nobel Peace Prize? Whose struggle for freedom and democracy is something that Chinese everywhere can take justifiable pride in? Not a word from the newspaper which has stated that after a century, it's HIGH-TIME for a person of Chinese extraction to win?
Nope, guess not. Where once were glowing paeans for Beijing's '08 Olympics, are now only crickets for the frontrunner poised to become China's FIRST-EVER winner of the award. Chinese nationalists, indeed.
(But then, when one takes the position that democracy is the worst political system ever tried (bar none!), it's not surprising that by default one roots for Communist jailors instead.)
(Image from Reporters Without Borders)
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UPDATE: An Irish gambling company which allows people to wager on who will win the prize is apparently so confident that Liu Xiaobo will come out on top that they've stopped taking bets and started paying-off bettors 48 hours before the actual announcement.
Parting with their money before they absolutely have to suggests that they're completely nuts. Or that they know something the rest of us don't...
UPDATE #2: Beijing threatens to bring Norway its knees by withholding vital supplies of heavy metal-laced cigarettes. Which will be difficult for the Norwegians to substitute, since China controls at least 92% of all the world's rare earths cadmium-flavored tobacco products.
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