Liu Xiaobo & Bruce Tucker; China & St. Lucia

China is raging mad over the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to Liu Xiaobo. But the questions being asked are: Is China’s anger justified? Where should the empathy lie? Should it be for China or Liu Xiaobo?

 

Many may have cast judgment on China – and indeed on the Nobel Laureate Committee -  in the context of their own biases; but wouldn't it be enlightening to hear the views of our foreign Minister on this matter, especially being our district rep and allegedly also the engineer of the diplomatic relations with Taiwan.

But let me tickle your imagination with two highly unlikely hypothetical scenarios.  Suppose the convicted Cop Killer Mitchel Joseph (who is likely to go to the gallows for the murder of Garvin Remy), were to be chosen by an unknown “St. Lucian underground Mafia” for an award for heroism for the murder of “Babylon”, how would we in Choiseul – where Garvin Remy hailed - feel? Suppose the sickly attackers of the Catholic Church a few years ago were being glorified for a “heroic act” against the Catholic community, how would we feel? 

Surely and justifiably there would be outpourings of outrage and anger in the land! Well, perhaps, that’s how China - justifiably or unjustifiably - feels.

China maintains that the committee has chosen a criminal convicted under Chinese law for the award of the Nobel Peace prize; and insists that giving him that prize constitutes an insult to China's judicial system. Liu Xiaobo is now serving an 11-year prison sentence for inciting the subversion of state power. 

As China was spitting venom on the world stage and unleashing verbal projectiles against the Nobel Committee, Mr Liu - represented only by an empty chair - was receiving standing ovations at the ceremony in Norway, with the committee's chairman calling for his immediate release from prison.

Undoubtedly, the award of the Nobel Prize to Liu Xiaobo is a highly complex issue with positions regarding it understandably being motivated mostly by bias.

The Liu Xiaobo issue has a measure of relevance to St. Lucia at both the international and local levels. Firstly at the international level, China is considered a friend of St. Lucia booted out by the current government in favour of Taiwan (which China considers as one of its provinces). That friendship may merit playing close attention to developments in China for it may well have implications for St. Lucia. Secondly, at the local level there is hint of similarity between the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to Liu Xiaobo and the legal and political recognition we afford to convicts. 

St Lucia has the rare luxury of making a “Bruce Tucker” her foreign Minister – a first for the Caribbean. I don’t think Grenada would ever extend that courtesy to a “Barnard Coard”, irrespective of his genius.  Neither would Trinidad do the same for an “Abu Bakr”; nor would America to a “Barnard Madoff”.  Why should it happen in St. Lucia? 

We in Choiseul/Saltibus have the distinct record of electing a “Bruce Tucker” to the parliament not just once, but twice! And the prime Minister has reciprocated with the distinct honour of making him the face of St. Lucia overseas.  In the continuing tragicomedy, I would not be at all surprised if the next step were to award him a “Les Piton” or “the St. Lucia Cross” for the distinguished service of gracing the Choiseul landscape with a record number of “Ti Canals” in the name of development.