BEIJING — American and German specialists saw imprisoned Chinese Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo on Saturday and confirmed that he is in the final stages of terminal liver cancer, the hospital treating him said.
BEIJING — American and German specialists saw imprisoned Chinese Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo on Saturday and confirmed that he is in the final stages of terminal liver cancer, the hospital treating him said.
China allowed the two doctors to travel to the northeastern city of Shenyang to see the country’s most prominent political prisoner following international criticism of Beijing’s handling of Liu’s illness and calls for him to be treated abroad.
The First Hospital of China Medical University said in a statement on its website that the two foreign experts “fully affirmed” Liu’s treatment plan so far, but that Liu’s prognosis was grim. The hospital said the experts were Dr. Markus W. Buchler of Heidelberg University in Germany and Dr. Joseph Herman of the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Texas. Shang Baojun, Liu’s former lawyer and a close friend, said that during the consultation with the foreign experts, Liu was “clear-headed and communicated smoothly, and could even speak English.”
“He again expressed a desire to go abroad for treatment, preferably in Germany, though the U.S. would also be fine, and his family members said the same,” Shang told The Associated Press. “We sincerely hope this request will be approved.”