Liu's prize dings China-Norway relations

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BEIJING, Oct. 8 (UPI) -- Liu Xiaobo's Nobel Peace Prize may harm relations between Norway and China, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry said Friday.

"What he has done is contrary to the purpose of the Nobel Peace Prize," Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said in a news release, adding Liu is a convicted criminal under Chinese law.

Ma said the Peace Prize should be given to people who "contribute to national harmony, country-to-country friendship, advancing disarmament, and convening and propagandizing peace conferences" and that the Nobel committee's decision "desecrates" the prize, Xinhua reported Friday.

Liu was found guilty by a local Beijing court of agitation aimed at government subversion and sentenced to 11 years in jail on Dec. 25.

Government censors quickly tamped down on communications mentioning Liu, eliminating most Internet search results for "Liu Xiaobo" or "Nobel Peace Prize." One Twitter user in Shanghai sent a message saying, "My SIM card just got de-activated, turning my iPhone to an iPod touch after I texted my dad about Liu Xiaobo winning the Nobel Peace Prize," CNN reported.