Wife of Chinese Nobel Prize winner wants to attend ceremony

Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo is serving an 11-year jail term for co-authoring a document calling for widespread democratic reforms.

The wife of China's jailed Nobel Peace Prize winner says she wants to be allowed to travel to Norway to pick up her husband's award.
Liu Xiaobo was officially given this year's Nobel Peace Prize for what was described as "his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China" and the fallout from the decision to award him the prize continues here.
Last night China's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ma Zhaoxu would not say whether his government would allow Liu Xiaobo's wife Liu Xia to travel to Norway to collect the award.
He did, however, criticize other governments for supporting this Nobel Prize.
Mr Ma said that "some politicians from other countries are trying to use this opportunity to attack China".
He said that if some people think they can change China's political system by supporting this prize winner then they are mistaken.

Mr Liu is serving an 11-year jail term in north-east China's Jinzhou Prison for co-authoring a document calling for widespread democratic reforms in the country.
The government saw this as advocating the overthrow of the Communist Party.
Meanwhile, Liu Xiaobo's lawyers are considering a possible bid for a retrial over his conviction on subversion charges.
"We are considering asking for a retrial," Liu's lawyer Shang Baojun said.
"Liu Xia [Liu Xiaobo's wife] wants to appeal for a retrial. We are still deciding which way to go about it. If we do it, of course our defence will be based on a plea of not guilty."
Mr Liu has the right to ask the Beijing high court for a retrial, Mr Shang said.
He also said that there was "no legal basis" for Liu Xia's house arrest, adding that it was not immediately clear if the police would allow her to meet with lawyers. (From ABC News)