Beijing: Jailed Chinese Nobel peace laureate Liu Xiaobo has told an overseas friend that he is relatively healthy but wants the world to pay more attention to other Chinese activists in a message that was smuggled out of jail.
“The aura around me is enough already. I hope the world can pay more attention to other victims who are not well known, or not known at all,” said a message sent by Liu to dissident Liao Yiwu, who lives in exile in Germany.
Liao, who posted the message Thursday on Facebook, did not say how he received the message from Liu, who is serving an 11-year jail sentence for inciting state subversion, but Liu's friends have said the message is genuine.
While in prison, Liu was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010 for his calls for political reforms. Beijing condemned the award and put his wife, Liu Xia, under house arrest.
Liu Xia still can visit her husband in jail, although their meetings are under tight watch.
Liao said he received the message Tuesday through channels in China and that it was the first he had heard from Liu in more than six years.
“My eyes are suddenly moist,” Liao said on Facebook.
In the message, Liu said he was doing well and had been reading and thinking.
“Through studies, I have become even more convinced that I have no personal enemies,” Liu said.
