China's take on taking home the Prize

China has been waiting for a Nobel Peace Prize winner (considering it doesn't recognize the Dalia Lama as their first-ever winner), but Liu Xiaobo's win is hardly what they asked for. I've gotten e-mails from friends asking me what it must be like in China with the whole controversy...
Controversy? Over What?

I was in the dark. No one was talking about it, I reached news pages with the article content "missing," and I heard of people whose e-mails containing Nobel Peace Prize news articles were erased before their eyes.

After bypassing Internet controls, I learned about Liu Xiaobo's reward for two decades of non-violent struggle over human rights. My next assumption was that us foreigners with our fancy proxy's were the only people in China who knew what was going on, but the Chinese aren't as in the dark as you would think. Some of my friends have Chinese roommates, so after a little investigating, I discovered that the youth population here have found articles and there's a bit of discussion among friends -- Apparently, they're aware of the government's restrictions and buy proxy's too.

What I found really interesting though is that most students commend the numerous world leaders who are asking China to release Liu Xiaobo from prison, at least those who were aware of the news. The more I'm here, the more my stereotypes about the average Chinese student are challenged. Sure there are some that still cherish Mao's red book "poems," but the youth population is more modern than any generation before them. I wouldn't be surprised if they sparked social reform...but from other things I've learned, don't expect it any time soon.

Another Fail.