China leads Nobel boycott

CHINA and 18 other countries will boycott this week’s Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in protest at the award going to Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo.

Chinese officials in Beijing called Liu’s backers “clowns” in an anti-Chinese farce — comments that came only days before the ceremony in Oslo on Friday.

Beijing considers Liu’s recognition an attack on China’s political and legal system, and says the country’s policies will not be swayed by outside forces in what it calls “flagrant interference in China’s sovereignty”.

The Nobel committee said countries that have turned down an invitation to Friday’s ceremony include China’s allies — Pakistan, Venezuela and Cuba — Chinese neighbours such as Russia, the Philippines and Kazakhstan, and Chinese business partners such as Saudi Arabia and Iran.

At least 44 of the 65 embassies that were invited have accepted the invitation, the prize committee said.