China

Poets, Peaceniks and Protesters: Meet China’s Leading Dissidents

As Xi Jinping, the man widely touted to be China's next President, embarks on a trip to the U.S., Beijing's desire for political stability remains paramount. The past year has seen numerous crackdowns on dissent and arrests of Chinese activists. Last week, Zhu Yufu, a poet, was sentenced to seven years for "inciting subversion to state power." Meet Zhu and some of the other artists, activists and lawyers caught up in China's latest crackdown.

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Liu Xiaobo

By Feb. 10, 2012
Junge, Heiko / AFP / Getty Images

The empty chair with a diploma and medal that should have been awarded to this year's Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo stands in Oslo City Hall on December 10, 2010.

Occupation: Author and political activist
Status: Jailed

One of China’s foremost champions of human rights and political reform, Liu Xiaobo is the co-author of Charter ’08, a manifesto calling for democracy in China. Liu played a prominent role in the 1989 Tiananmen protests and was subsequently jailed.  The 57-year-old activist and writer has since been imprisoned several times. In 2010, while serving an 11-year sentence, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his “his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China.”

—by Niharika Mandhana

Next Hu Jia / Zeng Jinyan

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