News at Eleven: Before he was anything else, a hunger striker

or inmate, dissident or symbol, Liu Xiaobo was a bookish literature professor and an essayist desperate to be able to write about politics, art and life without restraint.

His dedication to writing has been his defining characteristic, those who know him say, and it's what hauled him into politics--an intense and dogged desire for the freedom of expression. Everything else, the years of struggle against the Communist Party and his unveiling as this year's Nobel Peace Prize laureate, flowed from that point.

from The Los Angeles Times: Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo: Inside the heart of a gentle 'subversive'
then Nobelprize.org: Announcement of the Nobel Peace Prize 2010
then The Canada Press: Wife of Chinese Nobel winner hopes to accept his award though she remains under tight guard
then ABC News: China lashes out at Nobel prize 'obscenity'
then Phayul.com: Attacks Ahead of Nobel Decision
then Reporters Without Borders: News blackout on Liu Xiaobo's Nobel Peace Prize
then Deutsche Welle: Wife of Nobel Peace Prize winner talks about daily struggle
then Los Angeles Times: China allows Nobel Peace Prize laureate to meet wife
then QT: Writers call for Xiaobo release

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