My tribute to Liu Xiaobo

The great Liu Xiaobo is no more. The Nobel Peace Prize laureate who took on the mighty totalitarian political regime in China succumbed to medical complications at the age of 61. For people with a rebellious streak, Liu represented the fight for liberty, freedom and extreme courage. For me, he was the peaceful version of Che Guevera. I am using the verses of the famous tamil rebel poet Subramaniya Bharathi as a tribute for Liu.

“தேடிச் சோறுநிதந் தின்று – பல
சின்னஞ் சிறுகதைகள் பேசி – மனம்
வாடித் துன்பமிக உழன்று – பிறர்
வாடப் பலசெயல்கள் செய்து – நரை
கூடிக் கிழப்பருவ மெய்தி – கொடுங்
கூற்றுக் கிரையெனப்பின் மாயும் – பல
வேடிக்கை மனிதரைப் போலே – நான்
வீழ்வே னென்று நினைத் தாயோ?
நின்னைச் சிலவரங்கள் கேட்பேன் – அவை
நேரே இன்றெனக்குத் தருவாய் – என்றன்
முன்னைத் தீயவினைப் பயன்கள் – இன்னும்
மூளா தழிந்திடுதல் வேண்டும் – இனி
என்னைப் புதியவுயி ராக்கி – எனக்
கேதுங் கவலையறச் செய்து – மதி
தன்னை மிகத்தெளிவு செய்து – என்றும்
சந்தோஷங் கொண்டிருக்கச் செய்வாய்.“

There are enough articles on the life of Liu, but I want to remember some of his quotes.

“Free expression is the base of human rights, the root of human nature and the mother of truth. To kill free speech is to insult human rights, to stifle human nature and to suppress truth.”

“My tendency to idealize Western civilization arises from my nationalistic desire to use the West in order to reform China. But this has led me to overlook the flaws of Western culture.”

“I hope that I will be the last victim in China’s long record of treating words as crimes.”

His inabsentia statement for receiving the Nobel Peace Prize.

“I look forward to (the day) when my country is a land with freedom of expression, where the speech of every citizen will be treated equally well; where different values, ideas, beliefs, and political views … can both compete with each other and peacefully coexist; where both majority and minority views will be equally guaranteed, and where the political views that differ from those currently in power, in particular, will be fully respected and protected; where all political views will spread out under the sun for people to choose from, where every citizen can state political views without fear, and where no one can under any circumstances suffer political persecution for voicing divergent political views. I hope that I will be the last victim of China’s endless literary inquisitions and that from now on no one will be incriminated because of speech.”

Liu will definitely be remembered for his courage. He could have escaped to Australia after the Chinese Communist Party started cracking down the protesters at Tiananmen Square. Even as his friend drove him down the embassy, he decided to stay back and fight. History shows that great fighters don’t live long enough to see the fruits of their sacrifices. Their death galvanises people to continue the struggle and I really hope the same happens for people of China to unite and fight for liberty.