EU/China

Chinese dissident awarded top EU prize

Article published on the 2008-10-23 Latest update 2008-10-23 12:13 TU

Hu Jia, winner of this year's Sakharov prize.
(Photo: AFP)

Chinese dissident Hu Jia has won the Sakharov Prize, the European Parliament's prestigious award for those who fight oppression and injustice. The announcement on Thursday came amid claims that Beijing had campaigned against him getting the award. Hu is currently in a Chinese jail charged with "inciting subversion".

China warned EU officials that today's award could damage EU-China relations, on the eve of a major summit in Beijing. A spokesperson for European Parliament president Hans-Gert Pöttering said that China's ambassador had written the assembly president a letter "in which Beijing applies pressure". The spokesperson said the effort was "counterproductive".

In a speech before the parliament, Pöttering said that Hu was "one of the real defenders of human rights in the People's Republic of China".

"By awarding the Sakharov Prize to Hu Jia, the European Parliament is sending out a clear signal of support to all those who defend human rights in China," he added.

Hu is one of China's best known human rights campaigners. The 35-year-old has brought international attention to human rights abuses, the plight of Aids sufferers in China and environmental destruction in his country through his blog and video reports.

He came to worldwide attention several years ago with a campaign to help people who had contracted Aids through selling their blood, angering authorities anxious to hide the country's Aids problem.

Hu was imprisoned in the run-up to this summer's Beijing Olympics, accused of "inciting dissent".

In a letter to the parliament before the award, Ambassador Song Zhe, said: "The Chinese government is seriously concerned over the Sakharov prize. If the European Parliament should award this prize to Hu Jia, that would inevitably hurt the Chinese peoples once again and bring serious damage to China-EU relations."

The diplomatic tension comes as European leaders arrive in Beijing ahead of a meeting with Asian leaders, which will be dominated by the financial crisis.

The Asia-Europe Meeting (Asem) is an informal summit aimed at improving relations between European and Asian leaders. This year's meeting takes place on Friday and Saturday in the Chinese capital.

Campaigners are urging European leaders to raise human rights concerns, including the situation in Myanmar.