China ups pressure on India to miss Nobel Peace Prize ceremony

EIJING: The Chinese foreign ministry indicated on Tuesday it expected 100 countries including India to be absent at the December 10 ceremony in Oslo for presenting the Nobel Peace Prize to Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo. China is trying to put greater pressure on India just ahead of the visit by Chinese premier Wen Jiabao by suggesting that joining the ceremony would harm bilateral relations. 

New Delhi's decision on the issue will have a major impact on the process of negotiations during the visit of Chinese premier Wen Jiabao to India in mid-December. An important question is whether Indian foreign ministry can use it as a bargaining chip in the behind the scenes negotiations prior to the visit. 

Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu described officials in the Nobel committee as a set of "clowns" engaged in conducting a "anti-China farce" by rewarding a person, who has been declared a criminal by her country's judicial authorities. 

"The erroneous decision has not only met firm opposition from the entire Chinese people but also is not accepted by the vast majority of countries who uphold justice," Jiang told a media briefing here on Tuesday. 

India has not publicly said whether it will attend the ceremony. But the Nobel committee has said that India is among the 42 countries that have confirmed their attendance while 19 others have clearly stated they will keep away. 

It is clear China is exerting greater pressure on India to absent at the ceremony than it is doing in the case of many other countries because having the world's largest democracy on its side has a lot of advantages. But it is not easy for India to be seen as opposing someone who has been given the Nobel prize for upholding the freedom of expression. 

During the briefing, Jiang said China and India are committed to further develop their relationship while continuing with consultation to sort out "issues left over from history". The Chinese premier who is scheduled to visit both India and Pakistan in mid-December, will discuss various issues including steps to take forward the boundary talks in New Delhi.